After 36 years, the World Cup once again brings together only champions in the semi-finals

The first finalist will be known this Tuesday (14), in the duel between the French and Spanish. The ball starts at 4pm (Brasília time), in Dallas. On Wednesday (15), Argentines and English meet at the same time, in Atlanta, also in the United States.

Semi of Giants

In the semi-finals 36 years ago, Argentina and England were also there. The brothers, champions in 1986 and with two titles at the time, were up against Italy, the hosts who were looking for their fourth title. In Naples, where Diego Maradona was an idol, better for the Albiceleste ("albiceleste", in the Spanish translation, nickname for the Argentine team), which won on penalties, 4-3 after a 1-1 draw with the ball rolling.

The English reached a semi-final for the first time since the country's only title, in 1966. On the other side, there was a "still" West Germany - reunification took place three months after the World Cup - which was aiming for the third World Cup final in a row, something unprecedented at the time. The result was the same as the other clash, but in favor of the Germans, who would become three-time champions.

You could even say that the 1990 semifinals were the "heaviest". If the 2026 quartet comprises 32% of the 22 world titles, the World Cup in Italy represented more than half of the achievements: eight of the 13 previous editions. The absences were only Brazil (three) and Uruguay (two).

Brother wear

Of the teams that remain in the fight for the title in 2026, those that had a less tortuous path in the knockout phase were precisely those that will take to the field on Tuesday. France and Spain managed to reach the semi-finals without needing extra time or penalties.

The French had 282 minutes of ball rolling against Sweden (3x0), Paraguay (1x0) and Morocco (2x0). The Spanish were on the field for three more minutes, in victories over Austria (3x0), Portugal (1x0) and Belgium (2x1).

It is worth remembering that the Bleus ("Blues", in the French translation, as the country's team is known) took less time than Spain to build their respective triumphs. Fúria (the Spanish team's nickname) had to suffer until the final moments to reach the qualifying goals in the round of 16 and quarter-finals, both scored by midfielder Mikel Merino.

England beat the Democratic Republic of Congo (2-1) and Mexico (3-2) in normal time, but had to go to extra time to disqualify Norway (2-1). There were 327 minutes on the field. Almost a time less than the Argentines, who needed 364 minutes to eliminate Cape Verde (3-2), Egypt (3-2) and Switzerland (3-1). Only the victory over the Egyptians did not have extra time.

Best in the world

Interestingly, Argentina was the team that faced the theoretically least complicated opponents in the knockout phase. Considering the ranking of the International Football Federation (Fifa), Albiceleste beat teams number 67 (Cape Verde), 29 (Egypt) and 19 (Switzerland) on the list of June 11, the last one before the World Cup.

England faced opponents who occupied 46th (Democratic Republic of Congo), 14th (Mexico) and 31st (Norway) places. France overcame teams that appeared in 38th (Sweden), 41st (Paraguay) and 7th (Morocco) places. Finally, Spain was the one who faced better positioned rivals: 24th (Austria), 5th (Portugal) and 9th (Belgium).

In fact, it is the first time that the semi-finalists appear in the top four places in the FIFA ranking, created in December 1992. Before the World Cup, Argentina led the list, but was overtaken by France, which gained two positions during the competition. Spain fell from second to third, also throughout the World Cup. England did not move from fourth place.

Among the "survivors", Spain is the one that has remained at the top of the ranking for the longest time. There were 2,154 days at the top, most of them between 2008 and 2013, a period in which Fúria were two-time European champions (2008 and 2012) and won the 2010 World Cup.

Argentina has spent 1,697 days in first place since 1992, while France is leader for the 554th day, and in 35 of them it has been tied with Belgium. Among the semi-finalists, England has never been at the top. The maximum that the 1966 champions achieved was third place, at times in 2012 and 2024.

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