Super-sub Merino nets winner to eliminate Belgium; Spain set up semi date with France

Thibaut Courtois was remarkable in goal for Belgium for the majority of their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinal against Spain. He denied Lamine Yamal and the other cunning Spanish attackers at least four goal-scoring opportunities. The one time he spilled a shot was in the 30th minute when an alert Fabian Ruiz capitalised to make it 1-0 for Spain.

Courtois had to be substituted off with an injury in the 71st minute, and his replacement, Senne Lammens, knew what he was getting, with the game tied at 1-1.

Like Courtois, Lammens, too, spilt just once. But the timing of that spill proved fatal. It came in the 88th minute when Pau Cubarsi unleashed a cracker from outside the box, and Mikel Merino was the first to reach the loose ball. He lifted it over Lammens to win the match 2-1.

As in the round-of-16 match against Portugal, the Arsenal midfielder came off the bench very late and scored the decider.

Belgium, like most teams that face Spain, did a lot of running without the ball. More so in the second half, after they had managed to do what no other side could: Breach the Spanish defence. But there is only so much defending any side can do against a precision attack that gets replenished with each substitution.

Every change Luis de la Fuente made was an attacking one. Ruiz and Alex Baena were removed for Pedri and Ferran Torres. Oyarzabal made way for Nico Williams and Merino replaced Dani Olmo. His counterpart, Rudi Garcia, had a pragmatic view of the proceedings. He sacrificed Leandro Trossard for Axel Witsel and took off Kevin de Bruyne for Alexis Saelemaekers.

The odds were stacked against Belgium since the second half started and it got worse the longer the game remained level. Belgium kept a low block with nine men having their backs to the goal, and Jeremy Doku was the sole outlet for counterattacks. The Manchester City winger was always willing to get on his bike whenever Belgium retrieved the ball. But Spain won back possession almost instantly. Spain completed 601 passes, while Belgium put together just 252.

In the first half, Belgium had a short productive spell after they went behind. Timothy Castagne managed to slip past Marc Cucurella on the right and swung a cross into the box. A lot of work still had to be done, and Charles De Ketelaere, fresh from his brace against the US, got in front of Cubarsi to glance a header beyond Unai Simon's reach in the 41st minute.

Spain had kept clean sheets in all five of their matches in the tournament before meeting Belgium. They netted five times in the group stages before scoring four times across two knockout rounds. Spain knocked out Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal with a 1-0 win in the round of 16.

Belgium, on the other hand, had not had a smooth ride. A 5-1 win over New Zealand after a pair of draws with Egypt and Iran got them out of their group. They had to come back from the dead with three late goals to beat Senegal in the round of 32. Belgium produced their best football of the event in a thumping 4-1 win over hosts USA.

Spain will take on France in the first semifinal at Arlington on July 14. The Spanish last played in a World Cup final in 2010 when they went on to win their maiden title. France reached the final in the last two editions, winning in 2018 and losing to Argentina in 2022.