Quarterfinal play in the 2026 World Cup concludes Saturday, with England facing Norway and Argentina taking on Switzerland with free watch parties set for throughout Los Angeles County.
Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its four World Cup appearances with a 2-1 victory over Brazil in a round of 16 match Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey with Erling Haaland scoring both goals.
Haaland is third in the tournament with seven goals, one less than both France’s Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi of Argentina.
England advanced to the quarterfinals for the third consecutive tournament and 11th time in its 17 World Cup appearances with a 3-2 victory over Mexico in a round of 16 match Sunday in Mexico City with Jude Bellingham scoring in the 36th and 38th minutes and Harry Kane scoring on a penalty kick in the 60th minute.
Kane is fourth in the tournament with six goals and Bellingham is in a five-way tie for sixth with four.
The Three Lions’ roster consists of 21 players who play on club teams in England, two each on teams in Germany and Spain and one in Saudi Arabia.
Norway’s roster consists of nine players who play on club teams in England, five in Italy, four in Norway, three in Germany, two each in Portugal and Spain and one in Scotland.
Haaland is a teammate of English goalkeeper James Trafford and defenders Marc Guéhi, Nico O’Reilly and John Stones on the English Premier League club Manchester City.
England is fourth in the unofficial rankings released after the completion of Friday’s Spain-Belgium quarterfinal by FIFA, soccer’s global governing body. Norway is ranked 19th.
The ranking is considered unofficial until all matches are approved as international `A’ matches. The latest official ranking was released June 11, the day the World Cup began.
The Opta supercomputer gives England a 61.65% chance of advancing to the semifinals based on 10,000 pre-match simulations, Norway a 38.35% chance.
The match is set to begin at 2 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time in Miami Gardens, Florida.
Saturday’s second quarterfinal between Argentina and Switzerland in set to start at 6 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time in Kansas City, Missouri.
Defending champion Argentina advanced to the quarterfinals for the fifth time in the past six World Cups with a 3-2 victory over Egypt Tuesday in a round of 16 match in Atlanta, rallying from a 2-0 deficit on goals by Cristian Romero in the 79th minute of the scheduled 90-minute match, Messii in the 83rd minute and Ezno Fernandez two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Switzerland advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 1954 by winning a penalty shootout against Colombia, 4-3, Tuesday in Vancouver, British Columbia, after extra time ended 0-0.
Midfielder Johan Manzambi leads the Swiss with three goals in the tournament, putting him in a 15-way tie for 11th.
Argentina’s roster consists of seven players who play on club teams in Spain, six in England, four in France, two in Argentina, Italy, and Major League Soccer — Messii and his Inter Miami FC teammate Rodrigo De Paul — and on each in Brazil, Germany and Portugal
Switzerland’s roster consists of nine players who play on club teams in Germany, four each n England, Italy and Spain, three in France and two in Switzerland.
Argentina is third in FIFA’s unofficial rankings, Switzerland 14th.
The Opta supercomputer gives Argentina a 70.52% chance of advancing to the semifinals based on 10,000 pre-match simulations, Switzerland a 29.48% chance.
Saturday’s two winners will meet in a semifinal Wednesday in Atlanta.
Both matches will be televised in English by Fox and in Spanish by Telemundo.
Free watch parties will be held at the Northridge Recreation Center, Lanark Recreation Center in Canoga Parka, Lincoln Heights Youth Arts Center and MacArthur Park as part of the Kick It In the Park program organized by various city of Los Angeles departments.
More information is available at kickit.lacity.gov.
The Whittier Narrows Recreation Area in South El Monte and Venice Beach have been designated as Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Fan Zones. In addition to free viewing parties there will also be cultural activities, a local artisan marketplace and a variety of local food available.
Free watch parties will also be held at Burton Chace Park in Marina Del Rey, the Hammer Museum in Westwood, Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, the Grand Central Market in downtown Los Angeles, Veterans Memorial Park in Culver City and El Prado Park in Torrance.