{"id":15199907,"date":"2026-07-07T19:16:27","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T23:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/the-world-cup-quarterfinals-are-set-if-your-team-is-out-who-should-you-root-for\/"},"modified":"2026-07-07T21:33:33","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T01:33:33","slug":"the-world-cup-quarterfinals-are-set-if-your-team-is-out-who-should-you-root-for","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/the-world-cup-quarterfinals-are-set-if-your-team-is-out-who-should-you-root-for\/","title":{"rendered":"The World Cup quarterfinals are set. If your team is out, who should you root for?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Just eight teams remain in the World Cup — 40 have been eliminated on the way to the quarterfinals, including all three of the host nations. <\/p>\n

The United States’ run ended Monday with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Belgium in Seattle, but many fans say their interest in the tournament did not end with their team’s elimination. Supporters from around the world are embracing new favorites to cheer for through the final stages of the World Cup.<\/p>\n

Enrique Zarate, whose native Mexico was eliminated earlier just before the U.S., shifted his support to France. He said Kylian Mbapp\u00e9 is one of his favorite players and he believes France has the talent to win the World Cup.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Martina Vega, of Ecuador, backed Argentina, because she admires the team’s style of play: “They play as a team, not an individual, and their fans are definitely a great fan base.”<\/p>\n

Morocco is one of the only two non-European fans left, along with Argentina, and supporter Sabrina Marmucha welcomes fans looking for a new team to follow.<\/p>\n

“We want everyone to join,” Marmucha said. “We love culture. We love diversity. We want to bring as many people as we can to the cup.”<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

American fan Rith Nou said he shifted his support to Norway after the U.S. was eliminated. He also hopes hosting the World Cup will inspire more young athletes to play soccer and help grow the sport in the United States.<\/p>\n

As the tournament moves into the quarterfinals — starting with France vs. Morocco at Boston Stadium<\/a> on Thursday — many fans said the World Cup remains about more than national pride. They plan to keep watching and support the teams and players that continue to capture their attention.<\/p>\n

Who’s left in the 2026 World Cup?<\/h2>\n

France<\/strong>: Top scorer — Kylian Mbappe, best finish — champions<\/p>\n

Morocco<\/strong>: Top scorer — Ismael Saibari, best finish — fourth place<\/p>\n

Norway<\/strong>: Top scorer — Erling Haaland, best finish — this year<\/p>\n

England<\/strong>: Top scorer — Harry Kane, best finish — champions<\/p>\n

Spain<\/strong>: Top scorer — Mikel Oyarzabal, best finish — champions<\/p>\n

Belgium<\/strong>: Top scorer — Romelu Lukaku, best finish — third place<\/p>\n

Argentina<\/strong>: Top scorer — Lionel Messi, best finish — champions<\/p>\n

Switzerland<\/strong>: Top scorer — Johan Manzambi, best finish — quarterfinals<\/p>\n

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More World Cup news<\/h3>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2026 World Cup<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJul 5\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe World Cup quarterfinals bracket is set. Here's the full schedule\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2026 World Cup<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t7 hours ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMessi miracle: Argentina pulls off stunning World Cup comeback vs. Egypt\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2026 World Cup<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t14 hours ago\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe U.S. had a golden opportunity for a soccer breakthrough. Now it must wait four more years.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Source: News \u2013 Boston \u2013 necn<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just eight teams remain in the World Cup — 40 have been eliminated on the way to the quarterfinals, including all three of the host nations. <\/p>\n

The United States’ run ended Monday with a 4-1 defeat at the hands of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15199909,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[166],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15199907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boston"],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-scaled.webp",2560,1707,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-300x200.webp",300,200,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-620x413.webp",620,413,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-768x512.webp",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-940x627.webp",940,627,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-1536x1024.webp",1536,1024,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-2048x1365.webp",2048,1365,true],"post-thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-998x665.webp",998,665,true],"ignition_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-670x446.webp",670,446,true],"ignition_item_lg":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-1340x894.webp",1340,894,true],"ignition_article_media":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-510x510.webp",510,510,true],"ignition_minicart_item":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-160x160.webp",160,160,true],"profile_24":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-24x24.webp",24,24,true],"profile_48":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-48x48.webp",48,48,true],"profile_96":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-96x96.webp",96,96,true],"profile_150":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-150x150.webp",150,150,true],"profile_300":["https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/15199907-usatsi_29343941_168413449_lowres-300x300.webp",300,300,true]},"author_info":{"display_name":"news.iNthacity","author_link":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/author\/atombo\/"},"category_info":"Boston<\/a>","tag_info":"Boston","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15199907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15199907"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15199907\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15199908,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15199907\/revisions\/15199908"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15199909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15199907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15199907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.inthacity.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15199907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}