The World Cup quarterfinals are set, with five European giants, two South American superpowers and one African Cinderella competing for soccer's biggest prize.

• Brazil (No. 1 in FIFA rankings) is the clear favorite but has yet to be tested, cruising through the group stage before demolishing outmatched South Korea. Croatia presents a much tougher challenge.
• Argentina (No. 3) has rebounded nicely from a shocking loss to Saudi Arabia and is now three wins away from delivering Lionel Messi a trophy in his final World Cup.
• France (No. 4) is vying to become just the third country to win back-to-back World Cups, joining Italy (1934, 1938) and Brazil (1958, 1962).
• England (No. 5) has had the best start of any team, keeping three clean sheets and easing past Senegal in the round of 16. Can they advance to the semifinals for the second straight World Cup?
• Netherlands (No. 8) has conceded just two goals so far. They'll need another dominant defensive performance to outlast Argentina.
• Portugal (No. 9) is coming off an impressive 6-1 win over Switzerland in which Gonçalo Ramos scored the tournament's first hat trick after getting the start over Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Croatia (No. 12) hasn't blown anybody away in Qatar, but the core of this team knows how to win tough matches — as evidenced by their run to the World Cup final four years ago.
• Morocco (No. 22) is in the quarterfinals for the first time ever after beating Spain in a shootout. The Atlas Lions are just the fourth African quarterfinalist in history and the first since Ghana in 2010.

Notes:

• Title odds: Brazil (33% chance of winning), Portugal (14%), England (14%), Argentina (13%), France (12%), Netherlands (7%), Croatia (4%), Morocco (3%), per FiveThirtyEight.
• Golden Boot: Kylian Mbappé (France) has five goals. Messi (Argentina), Bukayo Saka (England), Cody Gakpo (Netherlands) and Richarlison (Brazil) are among those with three.

Go deeper:

• Every team left in Qatar is a contender (NYT)
• Morocco's run is exactly what the World Cup needs (WashPost)

Women's volleyball, growing steadily stateside for years, is now experiencing a full-blown domestic boom, Axios' Jeff Tracy writes.

State of play: The NCAA tournament is currently underway, and the college game's popularity is just one reason for fans — and investors — to be excited right now.

• Youth participation: Girls high school volleyball participation has increased 15% since 2002 and 8.4% since 2012, per WSJ ($), pushing it ahead of basketball as the second-most popular sport. It even gained athletes during the pandemic, when most sports saw a drop.
• College viewership: Last year's NCAA final drew an ESPN record 1.2 million viewers, and the single-game, regular-season attendance record was set twice back in September.
• Pro leagues: There were no U.S. women's pro leagues in 2020. By 2024, there could be four: Athletes Unlimited (launched in 2021), League One Volleyball (begins in 2024), Pro Volleyball Federation (begins in 2024) and Volleyball League of America (begins in 2023).
• Olympic success: The U.S. won its first-ever women's indoor volleyball Olympic gold last summer in Tokyo.

What they're saying: Volleyball's fast pace and athleticism "is really well-suited to social and digital, where it connects with younger audiences," AU CEO and co-founder Jon Patricof tells Axios.

The big picture: With more kids playing volleyball, the college game has become more talent-rich and exciting at a time when media companies are expanding their coverage of women's sports.

• The ensuing viewership increase has fueled investor interest in building out the pro landscape.
• The cycle should continue as pro leagues like AU, which struck an exclusive deal with ESPN last month to carry its 2023 fall season, expand their coverage.

Zoom out: The domestic landscape still pales in comparison to what the sport looks like abroad, where hundreds of Americans play in established leagues with huge events.

• Yes, but: Perhaps in time the pro options stateside will provide the right mix to keep the best players at home.
• They could supplement AU's fall season ($20,000 salary) with PVF in the spring ($60,000), or go with League One Volleyball's youth-to-pro developmental system.

The bottom line: Volleyball's boom happened slowly and then all at once. It's also only just beginning.

The Eagles reclaimed the top spot in our rankings after thumping the Titans, but with five weeks left they still have work to do to lock up the NFC's top seed, Jeff writes.

Here's the playoff picture entering the stretch run...

NFC:

1. Eagles (11-1)
2. Vikings (10-2)
3. 49ers (8-4)
4. Buccaneers (6-6)
5. Cowboys (9-3)
6. Giants (7-4-1)
7. Seahawks (7-5)

In the hunt: Commanders (7-5-1), Lions (5-7), Falcons (5-8), Packers (5-8)

AFC:

1. Bills (9-3)
2. Chiefs (9-3)
3. Ravens (8-4)
4. Titans (7-5)
5. Bengals (8-4)
6. Dolphins (8-4)
7. Jets (7-5)

In the hunt: Patriots (6-6), Chargers (6-6), Raiders (5-7), Browns (5-7), Steelers (5-7)

Looking ahead: This is the final week with byes (Falcons, Bears, Packers, Colts, Saints, Commanders) before a furious, four-week race to the finish.

⚾️ Free agent deals: SP Taijuan Walker (four years, $72 million with the Phillies), SP Jameson Taillon (four years, $68 million with the Cubs), and OF Cody Bellinger (one year, $17.5 million with the Cubs) headlined Tuesday's action.

💵 $31 billion: Fanatics has raised $700 million in a new financing round led by private equity firm Clearlake Capital, valuing the e-commerce giant at a whopping $31 billion.

⚾️ Draft lottery: The Pirates secured the No. 1 pick in next year's draft after winning MLB's first-ever draft lottery on Tuesday night.

🏈 Titans fire GM: The Titans fired GM Jon Robinson on Tuesday, two days after Eagles WR A.J. Brown — who Robinson failed to re-sign — had a huge revenge game against his former team.

Nearly every major publicly traded entertainment company has seen its stock plummet this year — except World Wrestling Entertainment, Axios' Sara Fischer writes.

By the numbers: WWE has a market capitalization of nearly $6 billion, up from a little under $4 billion when it signed a landmark five-year streaming deal with Peacock in 2021.

Why it matters: Investors are bullish on WWE as an acquisition target, especially in light of a hush money scandal that led to the retirement of longtime leader and controlling shareholder Vince McMahon in July.

• The company could be a hot target for streamers looking to bolster subscriber numbers and global followings.
• While WWE's exclusive U.S. streaming rights deal with Peacock doesn't expire until 2026, its two biggest live TV deals with Fox and Comcast lapse in 2024.

The bottom line: Much of WWE's revenue is tied to long-term media contracts and big events, which has helped the company dodge much of the advertising-driven headwinds plaguing other media firms.

Padres righty Joe Musgrove set a rather unique record last week, throwing the fastest pitch Antarctica has ever seen, all in the name of charity, Jeff writes.

Details: Musgrove's 86 mph offering was months in the making, requiring a fundraising effort, loads of red-tape and a makeshift pitching mound.

• He raised $100,000 in September for the Challenged Athletes Foundation (CAF), an organization he's supported for years that helps people with physical challenges pursue active lifestyles.
• Musgrove brought three guests: 16-year-old varsity baseball player Landis Sims (above), born without arms or lower legs, plus Paralympians Roderick Sewell and Justin Phongsavanh.
• After finally securing the permits to attempt the record, they arrived via boat and found a spot flat enough to throw, making a mound from Antarctic gravel.
• Sims threw a couple pitches, too, hitting 44 mph after Musgrove's record-setting toss.

What they're saying: "This trip exceeded every expectation I had," Musgrove told MLB.com. "I'm just very, very grateful that I was given the opportunity ... to make a little bit of an impact."

AL RAYYAN, Qatar — The thrill of victory.

NEW YORK — Terrence Shannon Jr. scored 12 of his 16 points in overtime to lead No. 17 Illinois past No. 2 Texas, 85-78, on Tuesday night at the Jimmy V Classic.

DALLAS — The Stars had 93 shot attempts but didn't score against Matt Murray and the Maple Leafs in a 4-0 loss, the most by a team in a regular-season shutout since the NHL first tracked shot attempts in 2009.

The Suns (16-8) host the Celtics (20-5) tonight (10pm ET, ESPN) in a battle of first-place teams and MVP candidates.

• Jayson Tatum: 30.8 ppg (4th in NBA), 8.3 rpg, 4.2 apg, 25.86 PER (9th)
• Devin Booker: 28.4 ppg (9th), 4.9 rpg, 5.9 apg, 23.72 PER (16th)

More to watch:

• 🏀 NCAAW: No. 10 Iowa State at No. 16 Iowa (7pm, ESPN2) … Iowa's Caitlin Clark leads the nation in scoring (28.2 ppg).
• 🏀 NCAAM: No. 5 UConn at Florida (9pm, ESPN2) … The undefeated Huskies visit the 6-3 Gators.
• 🏒 NHL: Sabres at Blue Jackets (7:30pm, TNT); Rangers at Golden Knights (10pm, TNT)
• 🏀 NBA: Hawks at Knicks (7:30pm, ESPN)
• ⚽️ Women's Champions League: Four games (12:45pm and 3pm, YouTube/DAZN) ... Matchday 4 of 6.

Baker Mayfield (No. 1 pick in 2018) has signed with the Rams, who previously employed Jared Goff (No. 1 pick in 2016).

• Question: Who was the No. 1 pick the year between them (2017)?
• Hint: Defensive player.

Answer at the bottom.

In 2019, Andrew Luck mysteriously retired from the NFL at age 29. Then he disappeared. Now, he's finally telling his story — why he walked away, what he's been up to, and why football is back in his future.

After Luck retired from the Colts, he tried to find new outlets for his obsessions. He makes a perfect cappuccino ... Skiing fills his need for an outdoor physical act that requires total concentration, with speed and danger.

Cycling provides the rush of skiing but in warm weather, and is easier on the joints. Rowing is something [his wife] Nicole encouraged. And he loves fishing for all the usual reasons: the quiet and detachment, the hope and adrenaline, the fact that he can go alone or with friends.

Go deeper:

• Read: Full story (ESPN+)
• 🎧 Listen: ESPN Daily podcast (Apple/Spotify)