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.