Futures
Access hundreds of perpetual contracts
CFD
Gold
One platform for global traditional assets
Options
Hot
Trade European-style vanilla options
Unified Account
Maximize your capital efficiency
Demo Trading
Introduction to Futures Trading
Learn the basics of futures trading
Futures Events
Join events to earn rewards
Demo Trading
Use virtual funds to practice risk-free trading
CFD
Stock CFD Derivatives
US Stocks
Access real US stocks and ETFs
HK Stocks
Trade quality Hong Kong-listed stocks
Korean Stocks
SK Hynix
Real Korean stocks and top assets
Stock Futures
High leverage, 24/7 trading
Tokenized Stocks
Backed by real stock assets
IPO Access
Unlock full access to global stock IPOs
GUSD
3.8%
Mint GUSD for Treasury RWA yields
Stocks Activities
Trade Popular Stocks and Unlock Generous Airdrops
Launch
CandyDrop
Collect candies to earn airdrops
Launchpool
Quick staking, earn potential new tokens
HODLer Airdrop
Hold GT and get massive airdrops for free
IPO Access
Unlock full access to global stock IPOs
Alpha Points
Trade on-chain assets and earn airdrops
Futures Points
Earn futures points and claim airdrop rewards
Promotions
AI
Gate AI
Your all-in-one conversational AI partner
Gate AI Bot
Use Gate AI directly in your social App
GateClaw
Gate Blue Lobster, ready to go
Gate for AI Agent
AI infrastructure, Gate MCP, Skills, and CLI
Gate Skills Hub
10K+ Skills
From office tasks to trading, the all-in-one skill hub makes AI even more useful.
#世界杯冠军预测 The top 4 teams in the FIFA rankings advance to the World Cup semifinals—who will lift the trophy? If Spain wins, three major curses will continue
All 2026 Canada/Mexico/United States World Cup quarterfinals were completed on the morning of July 12 Beijing time. Argentina beat the “Crusaders” 3-1 to reach the semifinals for the 7th time. With that, all four teams in this World Cup’s final four are confirmed: three European powerhouses and one South American contender—France, Spain, England, and Argentina—defeated Morocco, Belgium, Norway, and Switzerland respectively by the scores of 2-0, 2-1, 2-1, and 3-1. These four teams’ FIFA world rankings are 3, 2, 4, and 1—exactly the top 4 teams in the world. So which team is poised to lift the trophy?
From the four quarterfinals, France won the most easily, beating Morocco ranked 7th in FIFA standings 2-0. If not for the penalty that was taken directly by Mbappé and was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Bono, the quarterfinal score would very likely have been 3-0. France has reached the semifinals seven times, made the final four times, and in this World Cup’s knockout stage they are 6-for-6: 16 goals scored and 2 conceded—also the only team that has not conceded a goal in the quarterfinals. There is no doubt that France is the biggest title favorite.
Spain and England both beat Belgium (ranked 9th) and Norway (ranked 31st) with the same score of 2-1. But what’s different is that Spain advanced by winning in regular time, while England required extra time. Under De la Fuente, Ruiz and Merino each scored once in the first half and second half, respectively. This time marks Spain’s 3rd appearance in the World Cup semifinals: they finished 4th in 1950, won the title in 2010—back then, the semifinal was a 1-0 win over Germany, and the final was a 1-0 win over the Netherlands. By comparison, England won more laboriously: the match ended 1-1 in regular time, and in extra time, Bellingham’s brilliant performance helped them beat Norway 2-1.
Defending champions Argentina are the only South American team among the four, and they beat Switzerland 3-1 in the quarterfinal. In the Argentinian encounter, the match also lasted 120 minutes. In the 10th minute, Messi assisted Mac Allister to open the scoring. In the 67th minute, Switzerland’s Ndoye equalized to make it 1-1, which held until the end of regular time. During the match, Embolo received two yellow cards and a red, and Switzerland had to play with ten men from the 73rd minute onward. In the 112th minute, López assisted Álvarez to score, and Lautaro scored the third goal to seal the score in the 121st minute. Argentina advanced as desired despite paying the price of four yellow cards in extra time.
In fact, ScalonI’s side eliminated Switzerland to reach the semifinals; this is Argentina’s 5th time in World Cup semifinal history. Their previous runs include: 1930 semifinals, 6-1 over the United States, and they finished as runners-up after losing the final 2-4 to Uruguay; 1986 semifinals, 2-0 over Belgium, and they won the title with a 3-2 win over West Germany in the final; 1990 semifinals, 1-1 with Italy, they won the tie via a 4-3 penalty shootout to advance, then finished as runners-up after losing the final 0-1 to West Germany; 2014 semifinals, 0-0 vs the Netherlands, they won the tie via a 4-2 penalty shootout to advance, then finished as runners-up after losing the final 0-1 to Germany; they also advanced after eliminating the Netherlands in a penalty shootout in that later era, and in 2022 they beat Croatia 3-0. As for the 1978 World Cup, there were no semifinals, and Argentina won the title three times in 1978, 1986, and 2022, and finished as runners-up three times in 1930, 1990, and 2014. In 2026, the four teams in the semifinals—this is the first time since FIFA introduced the ranking system in 1992 that the semifinal spots are taken entirely by the world’s top 4 ranked teams.
The semifinal matchups are: France (world ranking 3) vs Spain (world ranking 2) at 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on July 15, and England (world ranking 4) vs Argentina (world ranking 1) at 3:00 a.m. Beijing time on July 16—so who will march to the final to claim the championship?
Regarding France vs Spain: in their most recent 12 head-to-head matches, Spain holds the edge—France have 3 wins, 1 draw, and 8 losses, placing them at a disadvantage. Of these 12 meetings, only one was a World Cup match at the finals stage: the 2006 June 28 round of 16, when France beat Spain 3-1. France’s most recent win over Spain before that was in the 2021 October 11 UEFA Nations League final, 2-1. The other win came in a September 2014 friendly, 1-0. In October 2012, the teams met in an official match and ended 1-1; in other competitions (whether official or friendly), Spain has been the winning side, with three 2-0s, two 2-1s, and two 1-0s. Their most recent meeting was in a June 2025 UEFA Nations League A semifinal: Spain beat France 5-4. In the 55th minute, Spain led 4-0, and France didn’t pull one back until the 59th minute to make it 1-4. Notably, including an own goal by the opponent, France pulled back four goals within 35 minutes.
Regarding England vs Argentina: in their last 8 meetings, England have 4 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses—slightly ahead. Among them, 3 are warm-up matches; the most recent was a November 2005 friendly, when England beat Argentina 3-2. There were two draws in friendlies as well: 0-0 and 2-2. The other 5 matches were all in the World Cup finals stage: the 1962 World Cup group stage (England 3-1 Argentina), the 1966 World Cup quarterfinal (England 1-0 Argentina), the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal (England 1-2 Argentina), the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal (England 2-2 Argentina, 3-4 on penalties), and the 2002 World Cup group stage (England 1-0 Argentina).
With this World Cup set to enter the semifinals, judging by the past “curses” of the World Cup, the champions are starting to come into view.
1) Foreign head coaches have never won the “trophy.” This “century-title-winning law,” which dates back to 1930, has seen an ongoing scenario only teams coached by domestic managers could lift the trophy—up to now, no team has broken that “destiny.”
Among the four teams in this World Cup, only England is coached by a foreign manager (Thomas Tuchel, German). The teams coached by domestic managers are France (Deschamps), Spain (Luis de la Fuente), and Argentina (Scaloni holds dual nationality—Argentina/Italy).
2) The trophy cannot be successfully defended.
In fact, during the Remit Cup era (old trophy 1930-1970), there were teams that defended successfully—for example, in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, Italy successfully defended their title. In the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, Brazil successfully defended their title as well. However, since the trophy was introduced in 1974, no team has been able to defend the title successfully. Past champions: 1974 West Germany, 1978 Argentina, 1982 Italy, 1986 Argentina, 1990 West Germany, 1994 Brazil, 1998 France, 2002 Brazil, 2006 Italy, 2010 Spain, 2014 Germany, 2018 France, 2022 Argentina.
3) Teams that go 3-for-3 in the group stage are hard to win the title (since the 2002 World Cup).
In fact, this rule is an observable phenomenon only formed over the past 20 years. Brazil won the trophy in the 2002 World Cup with a 3-for-3 group stage record: 2-1 vs Turkey, 4-0 vs China, and 5-2 vs Costa Rica. Since then, in World Cups, every champion team that won the trophy has dropped points in the group stage. For instance, in 2006 Italy, 2010 Spain, 2014 Germany, and 2018 France, the group stage record was 2 wins and 1 draw; in 2022, Argentina went 2 wins and 1 loss. In this World Cup’s group stage, the teams with 3 wins from 3 matches were Mexico, France, and Argentina. The host Mexico were eliminated long ago, while the other two advanced to the semifinals. Spain and England had 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage. Among these four teams, the number of title wins is: Argentina 3 times (1978, 1986, 2022), France 2 times (1998, 2018), England 1 time (1966), and Spain 1 time (2010).
Whether the World Cup’s century-old curse can be broken depends entirely on France, Argentina, and England—who will end up lifting the trophy? Or will the curse continue!
By 3 a.m. on July 12 Beijing time, all matches of the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico—quarterfinals—were completed. Argentina beat the “Crusaders” 3-1 to advance to the World Cup semifinals for the 7th time. With that, all four teams in this World Cup’s semifinals have been confirmed: three European powerhouses and one South American contender—France, Spain, England, and Argentina—defeated Morocco, Belgium, Norway, and Switzerland respectively with scores of 2-0, 2-1, 2-1, and 3-1. The FIFA world rankings of these four teams are 3rd, 2nd, 4th, and 1st respectively—exactly the top 4 teams in the world rankings. So which team is set to lift the trophy?
From the four quarterfinals, France won the easiest, beating Morocco ranked 7th by FIFA 2-0. Had it not been for the penalty kick taken personally by Mbappé that was saved by Morocco goalkeeper Bounou, the quarterfinal score would very likely have been 3-0. France has reached the semifinals 7 times, and the final 4 times. In this World Cup’s final stage, they are 6-for-6 with 16 goals scored and 2 conceded, and they are the only team that did not concede a goal in the quarterfinal—making them undoubtedly the biggest title favorite.
Spain and England both advanced by defeating Belgium ranked 9th and Norway ranked 31st with the same 2-1 scoreline. But unlike England, Spain won and advanced in regular time. Under De la Fuente, Ruiz and Merino each scored once in the first and second halves. This is Spain’s 3rd time reaching the World Cup semifinals: they finished 4th in 1950, and won the title in 2010. Back then, in the semifinals they beat Germany 1-0, and in the final they beat the Netherlands 1-0. By contrast, England had a tougher time. The match ended 1-1 in regular time, and in extra time England won 2-1 thanks to Bellingham’s brilliant performance against Norway.
Defending champions Argentina are the only South American team among the four. In the quarterfinals, they beat Switzerland 3-1. The Ar-瑞 match also went 120 minutes. At the 10th minute, Messi assisted Mac Allister to open the scoring; Ondoye of Switzerland equalized in the 67th minute, and the score remained 1-1 until the end of regular time. During the game, Embolo received two yellow cards and was sent off, and Switzerland played with ten men starting from the 73rd minute. At the 112th minute, Lopes assisted Álvarez to score. Then at the 121st minute, Lautaro scored the third goal to seal the match. Argentina advanced as desired despite paying a cost of four yellow cards in extra time.
In fact, Scalonni’s side eliminated Switzerland to reach the semifinals—Argentina’s 5th time in World Cup history making the semifinals. In 1930, the semifinals ended with a 6-1 win over the United States, but the final ended with a 2-4 loss to Uruguay, earning them the runner-up spot. In 1986 semifinals they beat Belgium 2-0, then won the final against West Germany 3-2 to claim the title. In 1990 semifinals it was 1-1 against Italy, and they won 4-3 on penalties to advance; the final ended with a 0-1 loss to West Germany, giving them runner-up honors. In 2014 semifinals they drew 0-0 with the Netherlands, won 4-2 on penalties, then lost the final 0-1 to Germany for runner-up. They eliminated the Netherlands on penalties, and in 2022 they beat Croatia 3-0. Since the 1978 World Cup did not have semifinals, Argentina won the title in 1978, 1986, and 2022, and were runners-up in 1930, 1990, and 2014, three times each. For the 2026 World Cup semifinals, the four semifinalists are the first time—since FIFA introduced its ranking system in 1992—that the semifinal spots have been completely taken by the teams ranked in the world top 4.
The semifinal matchups are as follows: France (world rank 3) vs Spain (world rank 2) at 3 a.m. on July 15 Beijing time, and England (world rank 4) vs Argentina (world rank 1) at 3 a.m. on July 16 Beijing time. So which team will reach the final and take the title?
As for France vs Spain: in their recent 12 meetings, Spain has had the upper hand, with Spain winning 3 times, drawing 1, and losing 8. Among these 12 encounters, only one was a match in the World Cup’s final stage—a Round of 16 on June 28, 2006, when France beat Spain 3-1. France’s most recent win over Spain before that was the Nations League final on October 11, 2021, where they won 2-1. Another France win came in a friendly in September 2014, 1-0. In October 2012, the two teams met in an official match and drew 1-1; in other competitions (whether official matches or friendlies), Spain won—three 2-0s, two 2-1s, and one 1-0. The teams’ most recent meeting was the Nations League A semifinals in June 2025: Spain beat France 5-4. At the 55th minute, Spain led 4-0, and France did not reduce the deficit until the 59th minute, when they made it 1-4. Worth noting is that including an own goal by the opponent, France clawed back four goals in 35 minutes.
As for England vs Argentina: in their last eight meetings, England had 4 wins, 2 draws, and 2 losses, slightly ahead. There were also 3 warm-up matches; the most recent head-to-head was a friendly in November 2005, when England beat Argentina 3-2. There were two more friendly draws between them: 0-0 and 2-2. The other five matches all took place in the World Cup’s final stage: the 1962 World Cup group stage (England 3-1 Argentina), the 1966 World Cup quarterfinal (England 1-0 Argentina), the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal (England 1-2 Argentina), the 1998 World Cup quarterfinal (England 2-2 Argentina, with a 3-4 penalty shootout), and the 2002 World Cup group stage (England 1-0 Argentina).
With this World Cup about to enter the semifinals, judging from the past “curses” of the World Cup, the champion is starting to come into view.
1. Foreign head coaches have never lifted the trophy. This “century title-winning rule,” which began in 1930, has been in place all along: only teams coached by domestic managers have the magic chance to lift the trophy—and no team has broken the “fate” yet.
Among the four teams in this World Cup’s semifinals, only England is led by a foreign head coach (Thomas Tuchel, German). The head coaches who are domestic are France (Deschamps), Spain (Luis de la Fuente), and Argentina (Scalonni has dual nationality—Argentina/Italy).
2. The trophy cannot be successfully defended.
In fact, during the Remit Cup era (the old trophy from 1930-1970), there were teams that successfully defended—for example, in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, Italy won back-to-back by defending the title. In the 1958/1962 World Cups, Brazil successfully defended. However, since the trophy was introduced in 1974, no team has managed to defend the title successfully. Past champions: West Germany 1974, Argentina 1978, Italy 1982, Argentina 1986, West Germany 1990, Brazil 1994, France 1998, Brazil 2002, Italy 2006, Spain 2010, Germany 2014, France 2018, Argentina 2022.
3. Teams that go 3-for-3 in the group stage are hard to win the title (starting from the 2002 World Cup).
In fact, this pattern only formed as a phenomenon over the last 20-plus years. Brazil won the trophy in the 2002 World Cup with a 3-for-3 group stage: 2-1 vs Turkey, 4-0 vs China, and 5-2 vs Costa Rica. After that, every team that eventually won the trophy dropped points in the World Cup group stage. For example: 2006 Italy, 2010 Spain, 2014 Germany, and 2018 France all went 2 wins and 1 draw in the group stage; 2022 Argentina went 2 wins and 1 loss. And in this World Cup’s group stage, the teams with a 3-for-3 record are Mexico, France, and Argentina. The host Mexico was eliminated early, and then the other 2 teams advanced to the semifinals. Spain and England both finished the group stage with 2 wins and 1 draw. Among these four teams, the number of title wins is: Argentina 3 times (1978, 1986, 2022), France 2 times (1998, 2018), England 1 time (1966), Spain 1 time (2010).
Whether the World Cup’s century-long curses can be broken depends entirely on France, Argentina, and England—who will lift the trophy? Or will the curse continue!