Who makes the best XI from the World Cup's quarter-final stage?

Before looking ahead to the two matches that will determine the participants in football's biggest game, we take a look back a compelling set of quarter-final games that delivered drama, excitement and standout performances from some of the best-known players in the sport.

Here is DAZN News' team of the quarter-final stage.

---

Watch: Famous World Cup Last-Minute Goals

---

Goalkeeper: Yassine Bounou (Morocco)

The man known simply as "Bono" stood tall against a tidal wave as the Moroccans took on tournament favourites France.

Bono made seven saves in Thursday's contest, holding Les Bleus scoreless for a full hour until the dam final broke as France earned a 2-0 victory.

Without Bono's heroics, it's possible that the Atlas Lions would have been blown out by the aspiring champions.

Right-back: Ezri Konsa (England)

Konsa stepped into the right-back role and performed admirably, completing 52 of 53 passes in England's victory over Norway and winning all of his aerial and ground duels.

Perhaps most important, Konsa was not dribbled past once as he helped cut off the supply to Erling Haaland up front.

Centre-back: Pau Cubarsí (Spain)

The Barcelona teenager continues to show his maturity and talent on the biggest stage, contributing to another Spain victory.

Cubarsi played all 90 minutes alongside Aymeric Laporte, making five clearances, two interceptions and three recovries in his team's 2-1 win against Belgium.

Centre-back: Lisandro Martinez (Argentina)

The 28-year-old is a pillar at the back for the Argentines, who took 120 minutes to dispatch Switzerland, 3-1.

Martinez was near-perfect in his defensive duties, winning eight of 10 ground duels and two of three aerial duels while completing four tackles.

Left-back: Lucas Digne (France)

Digne stared down the vaunted right side of Morroco's lineup — Achraf Hakimi and Brahim Diaz — and came out on top, limiting the Atlas Lions duo to very little impact on the match.

The Aston Villa man had three interceptions and two recoveries while making 96% of his passes.

Right wing: Ousmane Dembélé (France)

The Ballon d'Or winner had a big impact on France's victory, scoring his side's second goal and generally being a menace over the 90 minutes.

Dembélé had 51 touches against Morocco, creating four chances (three big chances) and taking three shots of his own. 

Midfield: Jude Bellingham (England)

A certified "big game" player if there ever was one, Bellingham scored both of England's goals in their victory over the Norwegians — the second straight match in which he's scored twice for the Three Lions.

Bellingham took the most shots of anyone on the field in Saturday's match, and his relentless style drew four fouls as England fought for every inch on the pitch.

Getty Images

Midfield: Alexis Mac Allister (Argentina)

The Liverpool man was an engine in the Argentine midfield for all 120 minutes against Switzerland, making three tackles, four clearances and four interceptions in the hotly-contested match.

On the attacking side, Mac Allister scored the game's opening goal as one of three shots taken, and he also created one chance.

Left wing: Désiré Doué (France)

The 21-year-old provided balance to the French attack on the left side of the field, registering an assist and creating three chances from 65 touches.

Doué played 77 minutes against Morocco, taking two shots and completing two passes in the final third.

Forward: Lionel Messi (Argentina)

The Argentina superstar was finally held off the scoresheet in this World Cup, but he still had a major influence on his team's victory with an assist and six chances created (including one big chance). 

Messi created more chances than anyone in Saturday's match, but he also completed the most dribbles (five) and took the most shots (four), resulting in an xG + xA of 0.96.

Forward: Kylian Mbappé (France)

Even though he missed a penalty, Mbappé was once again a dominant figure for the French. The 27-year-old scored and assisted in France's victory, creating four chances amid 44 total touches.

Mbappé had an astonishing eight touches inside the Moroccan box, which helped him reach an xG + xA of 1.39.

Watch the world's best football on DAZN

After the World Cup is over, there is so much great football still to watch on DAZN.

Premier League: All English top flight matches live and in full in Canada

Serie A: Watch all 380 matches of the Italian league live in the UK and Canada. Also in the US in Spanish language

Champions League: Watch every match of the 2026/27 campaign in Canada. Three matches per round exclusively in the US, in Spanish language

National League: DAZN is the home of the National League, with every game available either live or on-demand, plus selected North and South matches

FIFA+ on DAZN : Watch over 7,000 live matches a year, plus World Cup archive, iconic documentaries, films, and player profiles for FREE

More details and to subscribe to a DAZN football package, click here