2026 World Cup Round Of 16 Power Rankings

The round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup brought some epic moments and exciting soccer. We started to see some upsets and close calls, as we now head into the quarterfinals at the tournament.

So, with only eight teams remaining, who are the best nations still playing at the tournament? The FOX Sports World Cup NOW crew of Melissa Ortiz, Maurice Edu, Brad Guzan, and Sacha Kljestan took a look at the field to reveal their power rankings of the eight remaining teams left in the quarterfinals.

"I think Switzerland, that just put us to sleep, can be No. 8," Kljestan said.

Edu agreed with the evaluation, noting that Belgium should move up after Switzerland needed penalty kicks to beat Colombia to advance. As a result, Belgium got to move up a spot.

Still, Switzerland is now 3-2-0 at this tournament. 

Belgium, which was originally ranked eighth, moved up one spot following a 4-1 rout over co-hosts United States in the round of 16. Belgium has displayed the ability to score in bunches, but it looked vulnerable early against Senegal in the round of 32, having to mount a comeback for the ages to advance. That also came after Belgium went 1-2-0 in the group stage, but it has now won three straight matches.

Norway occupied the No. 6 position with unanimous consent from the World Cup NOW crew, with Edu even leading a quick Viking row with his crewmates. Norway advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its federation's history after Erling Haaland scored twice in its round of 16 win over Brazil on Sunday. Norway has also won all four games Haaland has played in this tournament as he battles for the Golden Boot. 

For the No. 5 spot, the crew agreed on Morocco to finalize the bottom half of the power ranking. Ortiz added