Mikel Merino’s 88th-minute winner saw Spain scrape a 2-1 victory over Belgium to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup Semi-Finals.
Merino pounced on a 88th-minute spillage by Senne Lammens to lash in a rebound winner after the Belgian had blocked Pau Cubarsi’s low shot.
Fabian Ruiz fired Spain into a 30th-minute lead with a rebound finish as he pounced on a spillage by Belgium’s Thibaut Courtois, yet Charles De Ketelaere headed Belgium level with a 41st-minute finish of Timothy Castagne’s cross.
Spain will now meet France in the opening semi-final on Tuesday 14 July at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, USA, at 2pm CDT (9pm BST), after Les Bleus beat Morocco 2-0 in the opening Quarter-Final.
Considered favourites to advance given their form and 100% clean sheet record at the tournament, Spain unsurprisingly started on the front foot but struggled to carve open many chances in the opening 29 minutes aside from a wide-21st-minute curled shot from Lamine Yamal.
Belgium’s defensive resistance eventually was broken on the half-hour mark as Pedro Porro raced up the right flank and cut the ball back to Dani Olmo, whose shot was spilled by Thibaut Courtois for Ruiz to lash in from close range.
Courtois however blocked a free-kick by Ruiz just five minutes later before Yamal put a shot into the side-netting in the 40th minute.
Spain were quickly left to rue those two chances a minute later as Belgium broke up the right and the ball fell for Castagne, and the full-back calmly curled a cross into the box where De Ketelaere was alert to nod in beyond Unai Simons as Spain’s defence conceded for the first time.
Belgium proceeded to further test Spain’s resolve either side of half time as Maxim De Cuyper fired a 55th-minute shot into the side-netting.
Spain however continued to pose their own threat as Yamal forced Courtois into a 61st-minute save, before Nicolas Raskin’s cross a minute later was handballed by Rodri’s left arm but referee – Michael Oliver and VAR snubbed Belgium’s penalty appeals.
Belgium however were dealt a blow shortly afterwards as Courtois suffered an adductor injury which forced him off in the 71st minute, with Manchester United’s star goalkeeper – Senne Lammens brought on in his place.
The match soon began to meander towards extra time until Cubarsi unleashed a low 88th-minute shot on goal, yet Lammens ultimately spilled his save for Merino to lash in from close range to send Spain to only their second World Cup semi-final.
Teams
Spain: Unai Simons, Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella, Rodri, Fabian Ruiz (Pedri 55′), Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo (Merino 86′), Alex Baena (Torres 55′), Mikel Oyarzabal (Williams 79′)
Substitutes: Eric Garcia, Joan Garcia, Pedri, Alejandro Grimaldo, Borja Iglesias, Marcos Llorente, Mikel Merino, Victor Munoz, Yeremy Pino, Marc Pubill, Gavi, David Raya, Ferran Torres, Nico Williams, Martin Zubimendi
Belgium: Thibaut Courtois (Lammens 71′), Timothy Castagne, Nathan Ngoy, Brandon Mechele, Maxim De Cuyper (Seys 61′), Hans Vanaken (Lukaku 60′), Nicolas Raskin, Leandro Trossard (Witsel 60′), Kevin De Bruyne (Saelemaekers 86′), Jeremy Doku, Charles De Ketelaere
Substitutes: Koni De Winter, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Axel Witsel, Senne Lammens, Romelu Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, Thomas Meunier, Mike Penders, Alexis Saelemaekers, Joaquin Seys, Arthur Theate, Diego Moreira
Referee – Michael Oliver (England)
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