# France backed to edge Morocco as Sutton predicts open England win

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/chris-suttons-world-cup-quarter-final-predictions/
- Published: 2026-07-10T14:39:28+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-11T08:12:27+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC Sport (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c15y1j32jxko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Art, Culture, Football, Sport, UK, World

## Key points

- Sutton backs favourites France to beat Morocco 2-1.
- He also tips Spain to overcome Belgium.
- Predictor users lead the tipping contest on 71%.

## Summary

BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has given his score predictions for the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals, backing tournament favourites France to see off Morocco and expecting Spain to overcome Belgium. His forecasts are set against those generated by AI (Microsoft Copilot Chat) and the choices of BBC predictor game users, in a running contest that highlights how the knockout stage has produced repeated surprises. The picks matter as a guide to how the last eight might unfold, with four teams due to exit and semi-final places at stake.

In the last-16 round, Sutton got seven of eight ties right, missing only Switzerland's shootout win over Colombia, while AI wrongly tipped Brazil and the USA to progress; predictor users also managed 6/8. Overall, with 96 of 104 matches played, Sutton and AI are level on 61 correct (64%) and readers lead on 68 (71%). For France v Morocco in Boston (Thursday 9 July, 21:00 BST), both Sutton and AI predict 2-1, with Sutton citing Morocco's inconsistency and the injury to forward Ismael Saibari; for Spain v Belgium in Los Angeles (Friday 10 July), he expects Spain's attack to improve, noting Spain are yet to concede and that Belgium have lost midfielder Amadou Onana to injury.

## Coverage

- [BBC Sport: France backed to edge Morocco as Sutton predicts open England win](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/c15y1j32jxko?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [The Guardian: World Cup quarter-final predictions: will anyone derail France? Some of our panel believe so u2026](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jul/09/world-cup-2026-quarter-final-predictions-france-spain-argentina-england-messi-mbappe-haaland)

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