Final four. One win from the final.

The buzz heading into the semiswhat everyone's arguing about

1. The Golden Boot is a dead heat between the two biggest names in the sport: Messi and Mbappé both have 8 goals, with Mbappé ahead on the assists tiebreaker (3 to 2). They can only meet again in the final — which is exactly how 2022 ended. Cheat sheet →
2. Jude Bellingham is doing Maradona things. Braces against Mexico and Norway make him the first player with back-to-back two-goal World Cup knockout games at one tournament since Maradona in 1986 — and now he plays Maradona's Argentina. Cheat sheet →
3. The weirdest red card of the tournament: the ref booked Argentina's Paredes for a foul, VAR figured out Switzerland's Embolo had actually dived, switched the card to him for simulation — and Embolo later got sent off anyway, for fouling Paredes. Cheat sheet →
4. 'TV cable-gate': Norway's keeper launched a goal kick that appeared to hit a dangling TV camera cable in Miami, and England fans and Norway fans will never agree on what should've happened next. VAR also un-called a Haaland dive. That game had everything. Cheat sheet →
5. Spain finally conceded. Belgium's De Ketelaere ended their record run of six straight World Cup clean sheets — and Belgium's trick of putting two defenders on Lamine Yamal all game is the blueprint France will be studying. Cheat sheet →
6. Morocco's coach picked a lineup with no striker for the biggest game in the country's history, and it backfired — even France's coach admitted he was 'quite surprised by the starting 11.' Moroccan fans are still arguing about it. Cheat sheet →
7. For the first time since 1990, all four semifinalists are former World Cup champions: France, Spain, England, Argentina. No underdogs left — just heavyweights.