The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought some epic moments and exciting soccer. We started to see some upsets and close calls, as we now head into the quarterfinals at the tournament.
So, with only eight teams remaining, who are the best nations still playing at the tournament? The FOX Sports World Cup NOW crew of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, and Sacha Kljestan took a look at the field to reveal their power rankings of the eight remaining teams left in the quarterfinals.
“I think Switzerland, that just put us to sleep, can be No. 8,” Kljestan said.
Edu agreed with the evaluation, noting that Belgium should move up after Switzerland needed penalty kicks to beat Colombia to advance. As a result, Belgium got to move up a spot.
Still, Switzerland is now 3-2-0 at this tournament.Â
Belgium, which was originally ranked eighth, moved up one spot following a 4-1 rout over co-hosts United States in the round of 16. Belgium has displayed the ability to score in bunches, but it looked vulnerable early against Senegal in the round of 32, having to mount a comeback for the ages to advance. That also came after Belgium went 1-2-0 in the group stage, but it has now won three straight matches.
Norway occupied the No. 6 position with unanimous consent from the World Cup NOW crew, with Edu even leading a quick Viking row with his crewmates. Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its federation’s history after Erling Haaland scored twice in its round of 16 win over Brazil on Sunday. Norway has also won all four games Haaland has played in this tournament as he battles for the Golden Boot.Â
For the No. 5 spot, the crew agreed on Morocco to finalize the bottom half of the power ranking. Ortiz added that Morocco should not be taken lightly, something the rest of the crew agreed with.
Morocco advanced to the quarterfinals after its 3-0 win over Canada on Saturday. But its most impressive match might have been against the Netherlands in the round of 32. After battling to a 1-1 draw with the Netherlands, Morocco advanced in penalty kicks as it’ll now take on France in the quarterfinals on Thursday.Â
The debate shifted as the panel examined the top four teams, starting with a close comparison between England at No. 4 and the third-ranked team on this list.
“Our decision between number three and number four was tough, because I think England has also shown championship quality, and so I think there’s a small separation between the one and two teams and the three and four teams,” Kljestan said.
Edu pointed to England’s recent performance with its 3-2 win over Mexico to show how close the margin was between the two sides.
“The biggest to me, between Argentina and England, because I was at that game in Mexico City, England were impressive to be able to do what hadn’t been done since 2013 in a competitive match at the Azteca, which is to win, there was impressive,” Edu said. “Their stars showed up, Jude Bellingham gets a brace, Harry Kane gets a goal, and assists in that one as well.”
Despite England’s heroic performance, the crew gave Argentina the edge at No. 3 due to its tournament history and tournament management.
“What separates Argentina Obviously, it’s Messi, but it’s that they’ve done it already,” Edu said.Â
“They come in here as a defending champion, so they know that winning pedigree, they know what it takes, and when you’re talking about their last couple games against Cape Verde, and then today against Egypt, yeah, they were nerve-wrenching.Â
“If you’re a Messi fan, if you’re an Argentine fan, you’re sitting there sweating, you’re nervous, but there’s a certain character that this group possesses, the manager as well, because they’ve crossed that line already at the last World Cup.”
Argentina has won all five matches it’s played
