A report on the “NBC Boston” website, translated by “Lebanon 24”, says that the first quarter-final matches will be a rematch of the 2022 semi-finals, when France, the major European power, will meet Morocco, the rising African team, in a match that is expected to be strong.
In Friday’s match, Spain will test its perfect defensive record in the tournament against Belgium, which swept the United States 4-1. As for Saturday, Norway will meet England in a confrontation between the new “dark horse” and a European power searching for a long-awaited title, while Argentina, the title holder, seeks to continue the campaign to defend its crown against Switzerland.
According to the report, the Argentina-Switzerland match comes in fourth place in terms of expected excitement. Despite the presence of Lionel Messi, the report believes that Argentina needed more effort from him than it should, and also faced difficulties against Cape Verde and Egypt, and both matches ended with a narrow score of 3-2. As for Switzerland, it is able to keep up with the big boys, but it lacks prominent stars, which makes its mission very much related to the performance of Granit Xhaka and goalkeeper Gregor Koppel.
In third place, comes the confrontation between Spain and Belgium. Spain has not conceded any goals yet, with Rodri returning to his level in midfield, but they are suffering offensively, in light of Lamine Yamal not being fully ready and Neco Williams being injured. On the other hand, the Belgian “Golden Generation” has declined, but Thibaut Courtois and Romelu Lukaku are still influential, along with Leandro Trossard, Charles de Kittilari and Youri Tielemans.
As for the match between France and Morocco, it came in second place. The report believes that Morocco has changed compared to the 2022 edition, especially with the brilliance of Ibrahim and Bilal El-Khanous on the flanks, despite concerns about Ismail Sibari’s injury. But France has great attacking power with the presence of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Desiree Douy and Ousmane Dembélé.
The confrontation between Norway and England tops the list of the most exciting matches, as it brings together the strongest scorer in the tournament, Erling Haaland, with a team that includes a large number of English Premier League players who know him well. The report indicates that Norway will rely on Haaland’s decisive moments with the support of Martin Odegaard, while England enters the match after an exciting victory over Mexico, with the brilliance of Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.
