- 1 La Roja scrape through, Belgium are left to stew
- 2 Belgium were hurt, but not buried
- 3 Fabian Ruiz justifies De la Fuente’s call
- 4 De Ketelaere ends Spain’s perfect run
- 5 Courtois holds on, then goes down
- 6 Merino, the unlikely hero again
- 7 Rudi Garcia fumes, but keeps his pride
- 8 France v Spain is on
La Roja scrape through, Belgium are left to stew
Spain are into the final four. But they had to work for it. Against a depleted Belgium side that showed plenty of heart, made the odd mistake but never gave up, La Roja finally won 2-1 thanks to a late strike from Mikel Merino, once again making himself the difference after rescuing them against Portugal.
In the 88th minute, with the game drifting towards a stomach-churning finish, Senne Lammens, on for the injured Thibaut Courtois, spilled a Cubarsi shot. Merino pounced. Goal. Qualification. And a brutal end for the Red Devils.
Spain will now face France in next Tuesday’s World Cup semi-final. A huge tie. But before worrying about Les Bleus, La Roja can breathe again: they have just dodged a serious banana skin.
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Belgium were hurt, but not buried
Before kick-off, Rudi Garcia had already taken a blow with Youri Tielemans ruled out at the last minute. Hans Vanaken was thrown into midfield, at the heart of a match that was always going to be a slog against Spain’s possession game.
And yet Belgium did not collapse. They were under pressure, yes. Their build-up play lacked polish at times, yes. But they stayed organised, shut the spaces down and spent long spells chasing the ball.
Spain, though, quickly took control. Rodri set the tempo. Fabian Ruiz, a surprise starter ahead of Pedri, knitted things together. And Lamine Yamal kept giving the sense that he could blow the whole thing apart every time he touched the ball.
Fabian Ruiz justifies De la Fuente’s call
The first real blow landed after half an hour. Played in on the right by Yamal, Pedro Porro clipped a cutback towards Dani Olmo. Courtois saved the first effort, but Fabian Ruiz had followed it perfectly. 1-0 Spain.
L’Espagne ouvre le score ! 🇪🇸 Après un premier arrêt de Thibaut Courtois sur Dani Olmo, Fabián Ruiz a parfaitement suivi pour pousser le ballon au fond des filets.
L’Espagne mène 1-0.
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— M6 – Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2026™ (@M6) July 10, 2026
A smart midfield finish, in the right place at the right time. And, more importantly, one that backed Luis de la Fuente’s decision to go with Fabian over Pedri from the start.
Spain kept coming after that. Yamal caused real damage down the flank, winning a free-kick and taking it himself, only for Courtois to push it away. The Barcelona winger then came within inches of the post after a fine piece of skill.
Belgium were under the cosh. But they were not on the canvas yet.
De Ketelaere ends Spain’s perfect run
In the 41st minute, the Red Devils finally found some relief. From one of their rare but well-worked attacks, Castagne floated in a cross to the near post. Charles De Ketelaere rose in front of Cubarsi and powered a header beyond Unai Simon.
1-1.
Charles De Ketelaere remet la Belgique dans le match ! Sa tête croisée sur un centre ne laisse aucune chance au gardien. ⚽️
Le score est désormais de 1-1.
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— M6 – Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2026™ (@M6) July 10, 2026
That goal changed the mood of the game. It also ended a staggering streak: Spain had not conceded a single goal in the tournament before that, a run of 650 minutes. Belgium had just shown that they did not need much to land a punch.
At the break, Spain were on top. But Belgium were still alive.
Courtois holds on, then goes down
The second half got ugly. Spain kept the ball, but Belgium carved out a huge chance through De Cuyper, set up after a cleared Doku cross, only for his left-footed effort to miss the target.
Luis de la Fuente then turned to Pedri and Ferran Torres. Rudi Garcia responded with Witsel and Lukaku. The fouls mounted, the tackles got heavier, and the quarter-final took on another edge when Thibaut Courtois collapsed with a thigh injury.
The Belgian keeper tried to carry on. Then he had to go off, in tears, in the 72nd minute. Senne Lammens came on under nightmare conditions: World Cup quarter-final, Spain in front of him, everything on the line.
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Merino, the unlikely hero again
Spain were still struggling to create clear-cut chances. They had the ball, Nico Williams was causing chaos down the left, but Belgium kept hanging in there.
Then Merino came on in the 86th minute.
Three minutes later, he was the story. Cubarsi let fly from distance, Lammens could only parry it poorly, and Merino reacted with the instinct of a player who lives for these moments. 2-1.
Mikel Merino, tout juste entré en jeu, profite d’une faute de main de Senne Lammens sur la frappe de Pau Cubarsí pour redonner l’avantage à l’Espagne 🇪🇸
L’Espagne mène 2-1.
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— M6 – Coupe du Monde de la FIFA 2026™ (@M6) July 10, 2026
Already decisive against Portugal, the Spanish midfielder did it again. He did not need long. Just one loose save, one perfect run and a very cool head.
Rudi Garcia fumes, but keeps his pride
After the final whistle, Rudi Garcia did not hide his anger. Between Tielemans’ late withdrawal, Courtois’ injury and De Bruyne’s exit, the Belgium coach pointed to a night of bad luck. He also talked about the small details, the tiny errors that are punished ruthlessly against a side like Spain.
He has a point. Belgium were close. They stared Spain down, made them wobble and even became the first team to score against La Roja in this tournament.
But they also handed Spain the opening they were waiting for.
France v Spain is on
The semi-final is now set: France against Spain. Two giants, two styles, two teams that know how to suffer. The Blues forced Paraguay’s door open. La Roja survived Belgium.
This will be more than just a marquee tie. It’ll be a proper test of nerve, control and quality.
Spain arrive with Rodri in charge, Yamal as the spark and Merino as the surprise saviour.
France have been warned.
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