Spain 2-1 Belgium: La Roja reach the semi-final thanks to a late Merino winner
Thanks to a decisive 88th-minute goal from Mikel Merino, Spain edged past Belgium 2-1 in the 2026 World Cup quarter-final, booking their semi-final spot against France.
Spain
Belgium- 90'Yellow card: Axel Witsel (Belgium)
- 90'Yellow card: Aymeric Laporte (Spain)
- 90'Final score: Spain 2 - 1 Belgium
- 88'⚽ Goal for Spain (M. Merino)
- 86'Substitution: ↑ A. Saelemaekers / ↓ K. De Bruyne (Belgium)
- 86'Substitution: ↑ M. Merino / ↓ D. Olmo (Spain)
- 85'Yellow card: Kevin De Bruyne (Belgium)
- 79'Substitution: ↑ N. Williams / ↓ M. Oyarzabal (Spain)
- 71'Substitution: ↑ S. Lammens / ↓ T. Courtois (Belgium)
- 61'Substitution: ↑ J. Seys / ↓ M. De Cuyper (Belgium)
- 60'Substitution: ↑ R. Lukaku / ↓ H. Vanaken (Belgium)
- 60'Substitution: ↑ A. Witsel / ↓ L. Trossard (Belgium)
- 55'Substitution: ↑ Pedri / ↓ F. Ruiz (Spain)
- 55'Substitution: ↑ F. Torres / ↓ A. Baena (Spain)
- 45'Half-time
- 43'Yellow card: Pau Cubarsí (Spain)
- 41'⚽ Goal for Belgium (C. De Ketelaere)
- 30'⚽ Goal for Spain (F. Ruiz)
- 0'Kick-off
Spain reached the 2026 World Cup semi-final after a thrilling 2-1 win over Belgium at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles in the quarter-final.
Fabián Ruiz opened the scoring for La Roja in the 30th minute, before Charles De Ketelaere equalized for the Red Devils in the 41st, sending both sides into the break level at 1-1.
Spain dominated the game with 68% possession and 17 shot attempts (8 on target), compared to just 5 for Belgium, without being able to find a breakthrough before the closing stages.
The match was marked by an injury to goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, forced off in the 71st minute and replaced by his backup.
The decisive moment came in the 88th minute: Mikel Merino, who had come on just two minutes earlier, scored the winning goal, moments after Belgian captain Kevin De Bruyne was booked and substituted almost simultaneously.
With this result, Spain become the second team to book their semi-final spot after France, with the two sides set to meet on July 14.
