***** Official World Cup 2026 Semifinals Thread *****

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wangus12
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11:00a, 7/12/26
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We are down to the final four teams and its the first time that the top 4 ranked teams have all advanced to the semifinals of a World Cup





Semifinal Results:

France 0 : Spain 2
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wangus12
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11:02a, 7/12/26
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Each teams route to the Semis

France:


Spain:


England:


Argentina:


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annie88
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In reply to wangus12 • 11:09a, 7/12/26
AG
How were the group stages decided?

How did they determine which teams would play each other along their paths? I mean, obviously I understand when you win you advance, but I mean the original groupings.
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Martin Cash
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12:21p, 7/12/26
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Do we root for the Western Hemisphere?
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La Bamba
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12:29p, 7/12/26
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A summary of each semi finalist by La Bamba with the help of Chat:

France Rolling through the tournament like they own the place, led by the self-proclaimed "Dictator" Mbapp. Every opponent has been steamrolled, and now Spain gets the chance to bring the regime to an end.

Argentina Still alive thanks to an aging squad captained by the immortal Messiā€¦ with just enough controversial refereeing decisions to keep conspiracy theories alive. They'll say it's experience; everyone else will say it's magic whistles.

England Somehow still standing through divine intervention, a little football, and that unforgettable TV camera cable incident. Whether it's fate or pure luck, the Three Lions keep finding a way.

Spain The team playing the best football left in the tournament. Young stars, relentless possession, fearless pressing, and a nation dreaming of another World Cup. One more step to glory.
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La Bamba
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12:30p, 7/12/26
AG
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PatAg
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1:32p, 7/12/26
AG
all that means is that there were some upsets
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bagger05
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In reply to annie88 • 1:59p, 7/12/26
AG
annie88 said:
How were the group stages decided?

How did they determine which teams would play each other along their paths? I mean, obviously I understand when you win you advance, but I mean the original groupings.

It's a draw.

You take the host nations and the top nine ranked qualifying teams (for a total of 12). Put all of those names in a hat. We will call this Pot 1.

Take the next 12 highest ranked teams. Put those names in a second hat. That's Pot 2.

Do the same for the next 12 highest ranked teams and the next, so you end up with four hats that each have 12 teams in it. These are Pot 3 and Pot 4,

Draw the first name out of Pot 1 (the highest ranked teams and the hosts). That team is in Group A. Continue this until all of these are assigned a group.

Now draw a name from Pot 2. That team is in Group A. Continue.

Repeat this process for Pot 3 and Pot 4.


A couple notes.

No group can have two teams from the same confederation. So the USA and Mexico can't end up in the same group. The exception of this is UEFA because they have so many qualified teams. So you can have two UEFA teams in a group but not three. So if you draw someone who "isn't allowed" in that group because of this rule, I think you put them in the first open slot for which there isn't a conflict.

I think that the host nations might not be drawn... they might be assigned to a group. This is a minor detail. I'm pretty sure when it's only one country hosting they are always in Group A.
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zgolfz85
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3:26p, 7/12/26
AG
I wish we'd get a post World Cup debrief from the USSF. It'd be nice to know what lessons they've learned in this cycle and in hosting the tournament, etc. It'd be great to know what we can expect in terms of change for the federation, for their vision with the US youth system, etc.

Yeah right, but I think it would really help to keep this momentum going of new US fandom in the game, etc.
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annie88
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In reply to bagger05 • 5:49p, 7/12/26
AG
Thanks for the explanation. So it is really very random to a degree with some caveats. Interesting.
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bagger05
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In reply to annie88 • 6:02p, 7/12/26
AG
Just read that this year they separated the top four seeds into different quarters. So if France, Argentina, Spain, and England all won their groups they wouldn't meet until the semifinals (like we are seeing).

I believe this is new.
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AustinScubaAg
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In reply to bagger05 • 6:23p, 7/12/26
AG
bagger05 said:
annie88 said:
How were the group stages decided?

How did they determine which teams would play each other along their paths? I mean, obviously I understand when you win you advance, but I mean the original groupings.

It's a draw.

You take the host nations and the top nine ranked qualifying teams (for a total of 12). Put all of those names in a hat. We will call this Pot 1.

Take the next 12 highest ranked teams. Put those names in a second hat. That's Pot 2.

Do the same for the next 12 highest ranked teams and the next, so you end up with four hats that each have 12 teams in it. These are Pot 3 and Pot 4,

Draw the first name out of Pot 1 (the highest ranked teams and the hosts). That team is in Group A. Continue this until all of these are assigned a group.

Now draw a name from Pot 2. That team is in Group A. Continue.

Repeat this process for Pot 3 and Pot 4.


A couple notes.

No group can have two teams from the same confederation. So the USA and Mexico can't end up in the same group. The exception of this is UEFA because they have so many qualified teams. So you can have two UEFA teams in a group but not three. So if you draw someone who "isn't allowed" in that group because of this rule, I think you put them in the first open slot for which there isn't a conflict.

I think that the host nations might not be drawn... they might be assigned to a group. This is a minor detail. I'm pretty sure when it's only one country hosting they are always in Group A.

One caveat. Pot 4 was the place holder for the 6 teams that were still TBD at the time of the draw due to the playoffs that had not happened. This led to a group like the US where a team like turkey who by ranking would be pot 2 but instead they were pot 4.
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dmart90
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8:59p, 7/12/26
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Let's go England!

It's coming home,
It's coming home, it's coming,
Football's coming home!
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FIDO95
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6:32a, 7/13/26
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No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. See full Medical Disclaimer.
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2008and1
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In reply to AustinScubaAg • 7:08a, 7/13/26
AG
AustinScubaAg said:
bagger05 said:
annie88 said:
How were the group stages decided?

How did they determine which teams would play each other along their paths? I mean, obviously I understand when you win you advance, but I mean the original groupings.

It's a draw.

You take the host nations and the top nine ranked qualifying teams (for a total of 12). Put all of those names in a hat. We will call this Pot 1.

Take the next 12 highest ranked teams. Put those names in a second hat. That's Pot 2.

Do the same for the next 12 highest ranked teams and the next, so you end up with four hats that each have 12 teams in it. These are Pot 3 and Pot 4,

Draw the first name out of Pot 1 (the highest ranked teams and the hosts). That team is in Group A. Continue this until all of these are assigned a group.

Now draw a name from Pot 2. That team is in Group A. Continue.

Repeat this process for Pot 3 and Pot 4.


A couple notes.

No group can have two teams from the same confederation. So the USA and Mexico can't end up in the same group. The exception of this is UEFA because they have so many qualified teams. So you can have two UEFA teams in a group but not three. So if you draw someone who "isn't allowed" in that group because of this rule, I think you put them in the first open slot for which there isn't a conflict.

I think that the host nations might not be drawn... they might be assigned to a group. This is a minor detail. I'm pretty sure when it's only one country hosting they are always in Group A.

One caveat. Pot 4 was the place holder for the 6 teams that were still TBD at the time of the draw due to the playoffs that had not happened. This led to a group like the US where a team like turkey who by ranking would be pot 2 but instead they were pot 4.


I will add that Canada, Mexico and US were auto put into groups A, B and D due to these groups playing their group stage games and their top seed bracket paths playing in Canada, Mexico and desired US locations respectfully. In single host world cups the host nation is always in Group A so they play the opening game.


As another poster pointed out, the top 4 fifa ranked teams (Spain, Argentina, England, France) were put in groups that would lead to them not meeting until the semi finals as long as they won their groups.

The actual knockout bracket is pre-determined before the groups are drawn, ie, the winner of Group A will play 3rd place team from group J. So that is known before the draw. Also they had like 400+ possible bracket scenarios pre made based on which exact groups had the top-8 3rd place teams to make it to knockouts.
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Out in Left Field
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10:49a, 7/13/26
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Top 4 ranked teams are the final four??

This whole tournament could have been an email!
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LeonardSkinner
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In reply to zgolfz85 • 3:25p, 7/13/26
zgolfz85 said:
I wish we'd get a post World Cup debrief from the USSF. It'd be nice to know what lessons they've learned in this cycle and in hosting the tournament, etc. It'd be great to know what we can expect in terms of change for the federation, for their vision with the US youth system, etc.

Yeah right, but I think it would really help to keep this momentum going of new US fandom in the game, etc.


Learning? Self reflection? Taking all the pertinent information and drawing rational, actionable conclusions? And being honest and transparent about it all?

This is America. We don't do that here.
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annie88
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In reply to FIDO95 • 4:13p, 7/13/26
AG
That's pretty funny, but Haaland in a red dress was a little disturbing.
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annie88
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In reply to Out in Left Field • 4:13p, 7/13/26
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Out in Left Field said:
Top 4 ranked teams are the final four??

This whole tournament could have been an email!

I really wish Norway had won.
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wangus12
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7:09a, 7/14/26
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Tuesday, July 14th:

Semifinal #1

France vs. Spain
2:00 PM CT
AT&T Stadium, Arlington, TX
TV: Fox, Telemundo
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wangus12
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12:36p, 7/14/26
AG
Lineups for France vs. Spain



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stick95
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1:11p, 7/14/26
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In DFW for a business meeting and my boss just decided that we are going and got tickets. On our way to the stadium now.
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zgolfz85
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In reply to stick95 • 1:16p, 7/14/26
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stick95 said:
In DFW for a business meeting and my boss just decided that we are going and got tickets. On our way to the stadium now.


Hell yes!!!
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YouBet
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In reply to Martin Cash • 1:18p, 7/14/26
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Martin Cash said:
Do we root for the Western Hemisphere?

That was my original reaction, but now I'm not sure. I hate things about each of these countries, so I'm torn.
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YouBet
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In reply to stick95 • 1:19p, 7/14/26
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stick95 said:
In DFW for a business meeting and my boss just decided that we are going and got tickets. On our way to the stadium now.

Boss move by your boss.
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YokelRidesAgain
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1:58p, 7/14/26
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Yokel's anthem reviews
The Marcha Real is one of only four anthems in the world without official words (San Marino, Kosovo, and Bosnia & Herzegovina are the others). Fabulous tune, have enjoyed hearing it played many times for Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros.

Unfortunately, France's anthem is better.

Much like their football team. It will be a scoreless first half, but Mmmbop scores a few minutes after half. France 1-nil.
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YokelRidesAgain
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2:00p, 7/14/26
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The World Cup is reaching for reasons to have a moment of silence at this point.
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YouBet
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2:01p, 7/14/26
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This is where I lament my absolute jealousy of France's kit. My God it's incredible (minus the gay collar) and is what ours should be.
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zgolfz85
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In reply to YokelRidesAgain • 2:01p, 7/14/26
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YokelRidesAgain said:
The World Cup is reaching for reasons to have a moment of silence at this point.


Half their residents probably support terrorism now and want more of it unfortunately
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zgolfz85
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In reply to YouBet • 2:02p, 7/14/26
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YouBet said:
This is where I lament my absolute jealousy of France's kit. My God it's incredible (minus the gay collar) and is what ours should be.


France always has the best kits, and I like an occasional collar in soccer
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Peter Piper
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2:08p, 7/14/26
Barcola with the rare ability to avoid the tackle and stay on his feet. 99% of the players would've taken a dive on that play.
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zgolfz85
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In reply to Peter Piper • 2:14p, 7/14/26
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Peter Piper said:
Barcola with the rare ability to avoid the tackle and stay on his feet. 99% of the players would've taken a dive on that play.


1000%
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YouBet
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In reply to zgolfz85 • 2:14p, 7/14/26
AG
zgolfz85 said:
YouBet said:
This is where I lament my absolute jealousy of France's kit. My God it's incredible (minus the gay collar) and is what ours should be.


France always has the best kits, and I like an occasional collar in soccer

I just don't like this collar. It's pretty horrendous.
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Thunder18
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2:16p, 7/14/26
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Olise pretty lucky to not take an early yellow there for that tackle on Rodri
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zgolfz85
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In reply to YouBet • 2:16p, 7/14/26
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YouBet said:
zgolfz85 said:
YouBet said:
This is where I lament my absolute jealousy of France's kit. My God it's incredible (minus the gay collar) and is what ours should be.


France always has the best kits, and I like an occasional collar in soccer

I just don't like this collar. It's pretty horrendous.


Ah gotcha
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