World Cup 2026 Quarter-Finals: Messi, Mbappé and Haaland Headline Eight-Team Shootout
The Guardian's writers assess who remains at World Cup 2026, with most backing Messi as the tournament's dangerman despite Haaland's remarkable efficiency and Mbappé's tenacity.
World Cup 2026 Quarter-Finals: Eight Teams, One Trophy
With World Cup 2026 trimmed to its final eight, attention has turned to who is most likely to go all the way — and, according to The Guardian’s team of writers, one 39-year-old is still the man to beat.
Lionel Messi has scored in every one of Argentina’s five matches at the tournament, and while his penalty record — four from eight — leaves something to be desired, his instinct for the decisive moment remains intact. Against Egypt in the last 16, he looked peripheral for long stretches before producing what one Guardian writer called a
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