England advanced to the World Cup semifinals after defeating Norway with two goals from Jude Bellingham, while Argentina needed extra time to beat Switzerland and reach the last four, with Julián Alvarez scoring in extra time to help his team through. The four highest-ranked teams in the world have reached the semifinals, though none took a straightforward path to get there. Argentina has scored the most goals of any team in the competition with 17 and has the added experience of many squad members who won the title in 2022.
England has relied heavily on Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham, who have each scored six goals in the tournament. Both players have produced match-winning moments even as the team has looked disjointed and vulnerable defensively. England last reached a World Cup semifinal in 2018, losing to Croatia on that occasion. Spain and France round out the semifinal matchups, with France considered by many to be the tournament favorite despite barely getting out of first gear. Spain recently beat France in the semifinals of Euro 2024, a tournament it won, and also defeated France in the Nations League last year. Spain has conceded just one goal the entire tournament.