After Argentina defeated Switzerland in the last quarterfinal match of the 2026 World Cup in Miami, United States, the world must once again wait for a new World Cup champion who is not from the eight countries that have previously and currently won the world championship.
The 2026 World Cup will be the 23rd edition. However, like the previous 22 editions, this 23rd edition will again be won by one of the eight countries that have won or are currently winning the World Cup, although the number of participants has been increased to 48.
The eight countries are Brazil, Germany, Italy, Uruguay, defending champions Argentina, France, Spain and England.
Brazil, Germany and Uruguay have already been eliminated from the 2026 World Cup, while Italy failed to qualify for this edition.
France, Spain, England, and Argentina have the chance to lift the World Cup trophy again after securing their places in the 2026 World Cup semifinals. The last three teams had to go through a tough quarterfinal, while France advanced with a relatively more convincing victory.
France defeated dark horses Morocco in the first quarter-final match of the 2026 World Cup where Les Bleus completely dominated the game.
The match was a confirmation of how strong, solid and dominant Didier Deschamps' team is.
On the other hand, the match was also an anticlimax for Morocco, who had just become African champions and 2022 World Cup semi-finalists, and who had also impressed during the 2026 World Cup before being eliminated by France.
Once touted as potential champions of the first African continent, Morocco were rendered powerless by Les Bleus. Not only were Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembele's two goals the Atlas Lions were left helpless by Deschamps' brilliant strategy, which shut down Morocco's right-wing mastermind, Achraf Hakimi.
As a result, Hakimi and his teammates only managed to create five chances, one of which was on target, while France created four times as many chances as Morocco, with 22 chances, nine of which were on target.
Morocco, which had scored in all five previous matches, including seven goals against Haiti and Canada, was left helpless, losing its sharpness and sting by France.
They were forced to acknowledge their status, which was apparently still one level below the two-time world champions and 2022 World Cup runners-up.
