Half the giants are gone and the bracket is wide open, so who actually wins this World Cup now?

[Terminator]

With Brazil out to Norway and Mexico beaten by ten man England, it feels like the right moment to look honestly at the bracket, because it has been torn to pieces. Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and now Brazil have all fallen, the champions Argentina have looked shaky for two rounds, and the field of genuine contenders is smaller and stranger than anyone predicted a month ago

The form teams left are an interesting bunch, France looking terrifying after the Sweden win even if they laboured past Paraguay, Spain rediscovering their swagger, and the outsiders who have earned their place, Norway with Haaland in unstoppable mood, Morocco backing up their 2022 run, and a Colombia side quietly conceding almost nothing. This is not the old guard cruising to the latter stages

The bracket shape matters as much as the form. One side is stacked with the Spain and Portugal winner potentially meeting the USA or Belgium, while the other has France and Morocco alongside the Argentina, Egypt, Colombia and Switzerland cluster, and England and Norway on a collision course. There are genuinely winnable routes for teams who would not have dreamed of it in June

The romantic in me wants to believe an outsider can go all the way given the carnage, the realist notes that France and Spain are still standing and still frightening, and the truth is probably that this is the most open World Cup in a generation with two clear favourites and about six live outsiders

So make your call while the bracket is this open. Who is your winner now, who is the outsider you fancy most to gatecrash a semifinal, and is the wave of giant killings a sign the gap has genuinely closed or just a chaotic run that France or Spain will quietly end in the final?

World Cup Round Of 16 Bracket Full Schedule Matchups And How Each Team Qualified 164942403sports.yahoo.com

[Undertaker00]

France for me, they have the most complete squad left and Mbappe is on a mission, the Paraguay game was a scare but the Sweden performance is the real level and nobody else has shown that ceiling

[Chris81]

Spain are the better football team than France right now and I will die on it, the control is unmatched, France rely on moments of individual brilliance and those dry up against organised sides

[Gaz_82]

Outsider I fancy is Morocco, they have done this before, they do not fear anyone, and getting France in the quarters is exactly the kind of tie they relish as underdogs with nothing to lose

[DarkMatter23]

Norway with Haaland in this mood is the outsider nobody wants, they just took down Brazil, why would England or anyone else on that side of the draw be comfortable, seven goals and counting

[Karen_37]

The gap has genuinely closed, this is not a fluke, the expanded format plus better coaching everywhere means the Germanys and Brazils cannot coast anymore, we are watching a new era

[RomoneyWalters]

Or the old format just protected the giants and this is the true distribution finally showing, either way the romantics are eating well this tournament

[Danny_21]

England quietly have a real chance now, that Mexico win with ten men showed a character nobody thought they had, and their side of the bracket opened up beautifully with Brazil gone

[QuantumLeap34]

Colombia are the sleeper everyone keeps ignoring, best defensive record left, in form wingers, and a winnable route, I would not want to draw them and nobody is talking about them

[Ava]

Argentina winning it from here would be the greatest survival job ever given how bad they have looked, Messi dragging that tired squad to a second star on fumes and reputation, I would not put it past him

[QubitZero68]

Two favourites in Spain and France and about six live outsiders is the exact right read, most open World Cup since I can remember and we are only at the quarters

[Karen_37]

Whoever comes out of the Spain Portugal side has the easier looking half, the France Morocco Argentina cluster is a bloodbath, positioning could decide this as much as quality