2026 FIFA World Cup Day 30 recap: England vs Argentina is set as Messi remains stuck with Mbappe

The last two semi-final spots of the 2026 FIFA World Cup are sealed after following the final two quarter-final games on day 30 of the competition. 

England kicked off the first of the two quarter-final games with a clash against Norway in Miami, before Argentina and Switzerland squared off in Kansas. 

Here’s a recap of the two games. 

No England player has ever owned a competition the way Bellingham has dominated the World Cup, which is ironic because there were calls from a certain section of the English press for him to be dropped coming into the tournament. 

The Real Madrid midfielder once again highlighted his importance as he gave a man-of-the-match display with another brace in England’s 2-1 win over Norway. 

Bellingham was England’s star in the thrilling 3-2 win over Mexico, but he did not rest on his laurels as he backed up that performance with another brace in the quarter-final. 

Norway had been the surprise package of the tournament, and they showed that their run was not a fluke as they took the lead in the 36th minute through Andreas Schjelderup’s brilliant finish. 

However, just as it looked like the Norwegians would go into the break with the lead, Bellingham stepped up with a brilliant first touch before firing past Nyland in Norway’s goal to ensure England went into the break with the scores tied. 

The second half saw Norway dominate possession, with England surprisingly happy to sit back despite their status as the strong team on paper. 

Despite Norway’s brilliance, they could not find the winner, and the match went into extra time. 

The Vikings started the extra time with the same momentum they ended the second half with. Still, they were dealt a blow three minutes into the restart after Bellingham fired England ahead with a rebound following Nyland’s failure to deal with Morgan Rogers’ long-range strike. 

That happened to be the winner, as the Real Madrid star once again showed that England will be nowhere without him in this tournament. 

Messi missed the chance to go ahead of Mbappé in the golden boot race after failing to score for the first time in nine World Cup games. 

The Inter Miami star was level with Mbappé on eight goals but could have forged ahead had he scored in the quarter-final clash against Switzerland. 

However, Messi fired blanks for the first time in this tournament despite playing 120 minutes of the encounter. 

Messi’s lack of goals did not matter, though, as Argentina’s quest to win back-to-back World Cups continued following a 3-1 win over the Swiss. 

Alexis Mac Allister put the champions ahead after ten minutes, but Dan Ndoye restored parity for the Swiss in the 67th minute. 

Ndoye’s equaliser swung the momentum back in the Swiss favour, but that changed almost immediately as Breel Embolo received a second yellow card for diving, leaving his side to play the rest of the game with ten men. 

Although Murat Yakin’s men held on for the rest of the second half, their resistance was finally broken in extra time as Julian Alvarez restored Argentina’s lead with a brilliant strike before Lautaro Martinez then sealed the win. 

With the win, Argentina will now take on England in the semifinal on Wednesday.