ARLINGTON, Texas — For all the worries about the World Cup’s expansion to 48 teams, FIFA could hardly have imagined a better outcome.
With a few one-game exceptions, the competition never seemed watered-down. Instead of a reason to trim back to 32, the relative lack of jeopardy on the last day of the group stage seems a reason to expand to 64, as Gianni Infantino has already advocated in an interview with Swiss media outlet Bluewin.
And still, the last four teams standing are the four that many neutral fan will have wanted to see. The semifinals and final promise to be thrilling box office, starting with Spain and France deep in the heart of Texas on Tuesday before England faces Argentina on Wednesday in Atlanta.
On a sheer sporting level, Spain-France looks like the game of the tournament. They have been the two best teams in this World Cup. Spain has slowly grown into itself over the course of the tournament, allowing just 1 goal the whole way while dominating the ball in the manner of Vicente del Bosque’s serial winners who handed the country its sole World Cup victory in 2010. France has been Napoleonically imperial throughout, mowing through every challenger and making it all look easy.
