Spain beat Belgium 2-1 to reach World Cup semifinals

Spain looked like a serious title threat because it kept finding the decisive action when the game tightened, not because it coasted. Fabián Ruiz opened the scoring after a sharp move down the right involving Pedro Porro and Lamine Yamal, Charles De Ketelaere equalised before halftime, and Mikel Merino came off the bench to score in the 88th minute and put Spain into the World Cup semifinals.

At SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Spain controlled the rhythm for long stretches and carried more of the attacking authority, even as Belgium hung around long enough to make the night tense. The winning sequence arrived two minutes from the end, when Merino finished after Senne Lammens, who had replaced the injured Thibaut Courtois, was caught out in the decisive moment. Spain did enough to survive, but the closing stages also showed how little margin remained against a stronger knockout opponent.

Belgium’s task was damaged before kick-off when captain Youri Tielemans pulled out in the warm-up with a thigh and hamstring injury. Courtois then left the field in tears during the second half, and his exit removed Belgium’s most established presence in goal at the moment the match was still in the balance. Those setbacks mattered because Spain’s first concession of the tournament came from De Ketelaere, breaking Unai Simón’s 650-minute run without allowing a goal in World Cup play.

That equaliser briefly shifted the pressure back onto Spain and exposed a possible vulnerability under strain, even though the response was ultimately decisive. Spain had now reached its sixth World Cup quarterfinal and had won that round only once before, in South Africa in 2010, when it went on to lift the trophy. This time, the late answer from Merino kept the same pattern alive: Spain can win games through structure, but also through depth, timing and substitutes who can change an elimination tie.

Luis de la Fuente’s side now turns to France in Dallas on Tuesday, July 14, with a place in the final on the line. The victory confirmed Spain as more than a polished possession side, while the concession and the Courtois injury left just enough doubt to suggest France will have openings to test.