Fifa World Cup 2026: The final week of the tournament is upon us and only four teams remain
Harry Kane: "We want to get over the line. That is the missing piece now"
England play Argentina on Wednesday in the second semi-final after France play Spain - who are the favourites to win the World Cup?
Get Involved: Gianni Infantino opens the door to expanding the World Cup to 64 teams
When the World Cup finishes, the football continues on BBC Sport
Thanks for having your say on Fifa president Gianni Infantino's suggestion to expand the World Cup to 64 teams.
We are wrapping things up for the time being - but we will be back at 10:30am to hear from new Liverpool manager Andoni Iraola.
You'll be able to watch his news conference live on this page.
See you soon!
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
Image source, Getty ImagesI’m all for having 64 teams. In my opinion the inclusivity fosters football community, adds to the fanfare and gives us insight in to the footballing quirks and culture of other nations. It’s an escape from global challenges and brings more of the world onto the sporting stage, including children.
Tina, Bristol
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
A Champions League style first phase would be best if 64 teams are involved. Imagine the minute by minute changes when those last games are being played... 'squeaky bum time' as Fergie used to say. That gives the so called “minnows” more of a chance to progress to the knockout stage.
Ash, Staffordshire
Why not have some sort of global competition throughout the 4 years rather than regional qualifying, like the Test Series in Cricket, then the top 32-48-64 teams in the FIFA rankings can qualify for a finals tournament regardless of confederation?
Peter, Whittlesey
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Image source, Getty ImagesThe World Cup shouldn't be elitist, so I'm not against 64 teams. It's a much simpler format too. But sustainability is vital. It would need to be in 2-3 neighbouring medium-sized countries with existing stadiums and good infrastructure, with groups and early knockout rounds localised to reduce impact on cost/travel/environment.
Sean, Gloucestershire
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
Bored with it now… given up watching, even the England games. How much football can be played? Players are not getting any time off between seasons and this impacts our domestic leagues. Too much chasing money. Motorsport and now Rugby are following the same trend…it is no longer sport.
Michael, Gloucestershire
Maybe go the whole hog and get every football playing nation at the tournament? Ridiculous.
John, Whitby
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
Image source, Getty ImagesBigger World Cup can only be a positive. To smaller countries with little football history, World Cups are often transformational and can lead to sustained improvement. In a more divided world, why not use football as the great unifier?
Seb, Leeds
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Image source, Getty ImagesThis is just greed. Our footballers are already tired out from a season of various cups and league matches without having more matches in the World Cup.
Heather, UK
Far too many teams! Where does the player welfare come into it?
Bill, Warrington
The duration and intensity of the World Cup tournament leaves inadequate time for the recovery of the players before the commencement of the intensity of the Premier League season. If there are to be 64 teams then the top countries should be seeded and their engagement shortened.
James, UK
Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesWhen Infantino was first elected in 2016, part of his manifesto was to increase the size of the World Cup from 32 teams to 40.
In less than a year, that rose to 48 and was approved by the Fifa council, effective from the 2026 finals.
Since then, speculation has never gone away that Fifa would like to go further and faster.
Going up to 48 teams for the 2022 finals was discussed, but it was accepted that Qatar would not be able to host a tournament of that size on its own.
And this is the issue – the bigger the World Cup becomes, the more challenging it is to host.
This year it is in three countries across a vast area. In 2030, matches will be played in six countries – Morocco, Portugal, Spain, plus Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay as centenary hosts.
Just how Saudi Arabia would be able to cope with a 64-team tournament, featuring 128 games, in 2034 is unknown.
Yet it is a great vote winner for Infantino on two counts.
Firstly, it gives more countries the chance to play at a World Cup. Indeed, a 64-team World Cup would see almost a third of the 211 Fifa-affiliated countries qualify.
A bigger World Cup also means more revenue to be distributed to the member associations.
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
Image source, Getty ImagesI like the sound of a 64 team World Cup more than 48, it takes out all the confusion of the third-placed finishers and the lower ranked teams (other than Scotland) have all exceeded our expectations and put in some really good performances.
Amyis, London
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Image source, Getty ImagesInfantino promised his parents that he would make the tournament big enough to ensure Italy qualified. It’s going to get big.
Alan, Australia
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
Not a fan of this argument that a bigger tournament gives more teams a chance to participate. They've always had that opportunity: it's called World Cup qualifiers. If FIFA want more e.g. African teams in it, maybe just redistribute finals spots amongst confederations?
Charlie, Suffolk
Presumably a 64-team World Cup doesn't increase the number of knockout games (assuming still four-team groups with top two progressing), but removes all jeopardy from qualifying. Even for Scotland.
Steve, Kendal
Click 'Get Involved' at the top of this page to have your say
We want to know what you think of Gianni Infantino's plans to make the world's biggest football tournament even bigger.
If you've loved watching the World Cup this summer, the idea of an expanded tournament and more games to enjoy might only be positive.
But would the games be of the same quality? What about the impact on the tournament's sustainability?
Maybe after all these late nights, you're not sure if you have the appetite to watch even more matches.
Let us know your thoughts on plans for a 64-team tournament by clicking 'Get Involved' at the top of this page.
Alex Brotherton
BBC Sport journalist
Image source, Getty ImagesPlans for a 64-team men's World Cup are set to be assessed after the 2026 tournament, with Fifa boss Gianni Infantino saying the event needs to be "for the whole world".
The proposal for an expanded tournament was put forward last year, and Infantino says the success of the expanded 48-team tournament means Fifa should look at how a 64-team World Cup could work.
"These are all issues that we will be examining after the World Cup," Infantino told Swiss broadcaster Blue Sport, when asked if the tournament could grow to 64 teams.
"When organising a World Cup, it's important to organise it for the whole world - not just Europe and South America, but effectively the entire world. Every nation should be allowed to dream of participating in the World Cup.
"You can see that the quality of the teams is extremely high, and it's getting higher and higher, all over the world. If you don't give smaller countries a chance to participate in the World Cup, they'll lack the incentive to keep improving."
Infantino said that the first 48-team World Cup has been "a huge success", citing the progression of nine out of 10 African teams to the knockout stages.
"At the last World Cup, there were only five teams from Africa," he said. "That just goes to show how important it is to include all teams - to give them this opportunity to participate."
Before we unpack England's tournament so far and get your opinions on the team's progress, let's take a look at a piece of news that you might have missed from yesterday.
The Three Lions almost came unstuck against DR Congo in the round of 32, an extra obstacle which they wouldn't have had to overcome in previous tournaments involving 32 teams.
The expanison might not be finished there though...
England v Argentina (Wed, 20:00 BST)
In an ideal world, the Three Lions would be 3-0 up at the break against Argentina and we could all enjoy a relaxing stroll to victory in the second half.
That's what comes to my mind when Harry Kane speaks of 'another level'.
Optimistic.
While that scenario may not come to pass, do you think it is reasonable to hope that England could pull out a performance which would give fans a little less stress than previous outings against Mexico and Norway?
Are we about to see a super-charged England side?
Have your say in our poll below.
England v Argentina (Wed, 20:00 BST)
England
Image source, Getty ImagesEngland captain Harry Kane says that his team has "another level we can reach".
Manager Thomas Tuchel was unhappy with the quality of his team's quarter-final performance against Norway, saying England "got lucky" after coming from behind to win 2-1 in extra time.
As his team prepare to face Argentina in a semi-final, Kane says he understands why Tuchel feels frustrated: "When he sees us train and sees the closeness of us and sees what we can do, especially with the players we have, the way we attack, our one-on-ones and the skills, he just wants to see that version of us.
"He knows as much as anyone that it's not as simple as that, we're playing against good opposition and good teams.
"He's trying to drag it out of us and we know ourselves we have another level we can reach.
"We haven't seen that yet, we've shown it in glimpses. Against Norway it was in glimpses. But we haven't had full control that we would like and I feel we can have.
"We'll be playing against one of the best teams in the world in the semi-final, so the most pleasing thing is we are in a semi-final and still feel we can improve.
"But I don't think it is something to get really over the top about. We are showing a lot of good things."
If England want to max out that 1 in 5 chance of being the champions of the world, they'll need to pull out a different performance from what we saw against Norway on Saturday.
Fortunately, Harry Kane seems confident that improvement is possible.
England v Argentina (Wed, 20:00 BST)
Image source, Getty ImagesSo, can England go from being 'serial contenders' to actually claiming the silverware they so crave? Let's see what Opta have to say.
Opta have run their supercomputer through 25,000 simulations of the final four games of the tournament.
In 34% of those simulations, 2022 finalists France lift the trophy, with Spain coming in as second favourites.
England's chances of reaching the final with a semi-final win against Argentina is almost 50/50 - it tips ever so slightly in the favour of Thomas Tuchel's side.
Then, what about the Three Lions' chances of winning a first trophy in 60 years?
Opta says 21.9%.
England v Argentina (Wed, 20:00 BST)
Dale Johnson
Football issues correspondent
Image source, Getty ImagesTen years ago the suggestion that England could become serial contenders in major tournaments would have sounded laughable.
After all, the Three Lions had just been knocked out in the last 16 at Euro 2016 by Iceland.
That came on the back of a dismal World Cup in Brazil where England finished bottom of their group, signing off with a 0-0 draw against Costa Rica for their only point in the tournament.
Spearheaded by the brilliance of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, England now firmly belong in the conversation as potential champions.
Not just this year, but every year.
Since Euro 2016, England have reached at least the semi-finals in four out of five tournaments. We are in unprecedented times.
It is a record only surpassed by Argentina and France, as they have World Cup and Copa America titles to show for it.
After England's nail-biting 2-1 extra-time victory over Norway on Saturday, Argentina - and a first meeting with Lionel Messi - await in the final four.
Even if England fall short once again, this is now a team built to compete rather than enjoy a brief dalliance with success.
Good morning folks and welcome to today's World Cup live page.
Have you recovered from England's quarter-final comeback, yet? Or indeed, the tournament so far...
It's been a beast of a competition - one hundred games played, and counting.
We're now in the midst of a two-day rest period, with no games scheduled last night or tonight as players get themselves ready for their final-four showdowns.
That means it's time for ice baths, rubdowns, the opportunity to take stock.
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
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| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 1 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
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| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 1 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
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| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 0 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 3 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
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| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
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| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 9 | -8 | 1 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
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| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
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| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 12 | -10 | 0 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 5 |
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| 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 10 | -6 | 1 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
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| 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
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| 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 2 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 9 |
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| 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 7 | 1 | 6 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
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| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 12 | -11 | 0 |
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| Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
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| 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 9 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 4 |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 |
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| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
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| 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 0 |
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| 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 4 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 3 |
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| 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | -1 | 3 |
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| 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | -3 | 3 |
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