Spanish defence breached for first time; Last of Belgium’s golden generation make it 1-1

The last of Belgium’s golden generation have done what no other team managed in the FIFA World Cup 2026: breach the Spanish defence.

Charles de Ketelaere scored with a smart header in the 41st minute to make it 1-1 after Fabian Ruiz put Spain ahead in the 30th. Ruiz, who was preferred in midfield in place of Pedri, was alert to a spill by Thibaut Courtois from a Dani Olmo shot to score from a tap-in.

Courtois was required to make a smart low save from a Lamine Yamal freekick five minutes later to keep his side in the game.

Rudi Garcia’s Belgium were not having the ball with regularity against a Spanish side used to stretching out the pitch when in possession. But they had to have a go after going behind. Timothy Castagne managed to slip past Marc Cucurella on Belgium's right and swung a cross into the box. A lot of work still had to be done, and De Ketelaere, fresh from his brace against the US, got in front of Pau Cubarsi to glance a header beyond Unai Simon's reach.

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, have 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.

Kevin De Bruyne is leading Belgium tonight. The winner of the match will take on France in the semifinal at Arlington on July 14. France had defeated Morocco 2-0 in the first quarterfinal.