World Cup 2026 pages
Sports · World Cup 2026 · Quarter-final
Spainvs
Belgium
2–1
Full time · Friday, July 10, 2026 · 3:00 p.m. ET · Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium), Inglewood, CA
Result
Spain edged Belgium 2-1 at SoFi Stadium to reach the World Cup semi-finals, both goals arriving via spilled saves. Fabián Ruiz turned in a parried shot on 30 minutes; Charles De Ketelaere headed Belgium level from Timothy Castagne's cross on 41. The decisive blow came late and unluckily for Belgium: goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off on 71 minutes with a quadriceps injury, and on 88 his replacement Senne Lammens could only push out Pau Cubarsí's effort, leaving substitute Mikel Merino to score the winner. Spain dominated possession (68%) and shots (17 to 5) throughout, and now meet France in Dallas on 14 July. Spain advance to the semi-finals.
Spain 4-2-3-14-2-3-1 BelgiumSpainSubstitutions
At this Stage
The tournament's meanest defence finally leaked — and still went through. Spain, five clean sheets in five coming in, needed two spilled saves and a slice of luck to see off Belgium 2-1. Fabián Ruiz pounced on a parried shot to open the scoring on 30; Charles De Ketelaere headed in Timothy Castagne's cross to level on 41. Then the tie turned on an injury: Thibaut Courtois limped off on 71 with a quad problem, and 17 minutes later his replacement Senne Lammens could only push out Pau Cubarsí's effort, leaving substitute Mikel Merino to bundle home the 88th-minute winner. So de la Fuente's Spain reach a first World Cup semi-final since they won it all in 2010, and draw France in Dallas on 14 July — the tournament's control machine against its form favourites. Belgium, more thrilling than solid throughout, go home in the last eight.
Round of 16
Quarter-final
Semi-final
What we know now
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium
Attendance: 70,492
Watch: FOX in English (free over the air, stream free on Tubi, or on Fox One) and Telemundo in Spanish (stream on Peacock or the Telemundo app).
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen at kickoff. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the predictions worth anything.
Spain to advance. De la Fuente's side have not conceded a single goal all tournament — five clean sheets in five — and control matches through Rodri, Pedri and the outstanding Lamine Yamal. Belgium have the attacking talent to hurt anyone, and Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku return refreshed after being rested against the USA, but the tournament-ending ACL injury to Amadou Onana further thins an already leaky defence. The likeliest outcome is a controlled Spanish win, 2-1 or 1-0, though Belgium's front line means a clean sheet is no certainty.
My locked pick: Spain advance ✓ RIGHT
“Spain to advance. De la Fuente's side have not conceded a single goal all tournament — five clean sheets in five — and control matches through Rodri, Pedri and the outstanding Lamine Yamal. Belgium have the attacking talent to hurt anyone, with Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku refreshed after being rested against the USA, but the tournament-ending ACL injury to Amadou Onana further thins an already leaky defence. Spain by the odd goal in a tight one.”
Locked 2026-07-08 01:16 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
The case for Spain
55% to winSpain have been the tournament's model of control: five games, five clean sheets, not a goal conceded, and a midfield of Rodri and Pedri that strangles the tempo out of opponents. Lamine Yamal has been the campaign's breakout star, drifting inside off the right to create and score, and de la Fuente's side beat Portugal 1-0 without ever looking flustered. Against a Belgium defence missing Onana and short on clean sheets, Spain's patience should eventually tell.
The case for Belgium
21% to winBelgium have the raw attacking quality to trouble anyone — Doku's dribbling, De Bruyne's passing, Trossard's movement and Charles De Ketelaere, who scored twice in the last 16 and is in red-hot form. Rudi Garcia's side blitzed the USA 4-1 and, with De Bruyne and Doku rested and refreshed, will back themselves to land the punches Spain's flawless defence has not yet had to absorb. Turn this into an open, transitional game and the meanest defence at the tournament finally gets tested.
Both cases written 2026-07-08, before kickoff — they freeze into the record exactly as written, however the match goes. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — the unclaimed 24% belongs to the draw.
Storylines
- Spain reached their first World Cup semi-final since winning the 2010 tournament, beating Belgium 2-1 — but conceded for the first time all tournament in doing so.
- Both Spanish goals came off spilled saves — Fabián Ruiz on 30 minutes and substitute Mikel Merino on 88 — either side of Charles De Ketelaere's header from Timothy Castagne's cross.
- Belgium lost goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to a quadriceps injury on 71 minutes; his replacement Senne Lammens spilled the shot Merino turned into the winner. Captain Youri Tielemans had already been withdrawn in the warm-up.
- Spain meet France — 2-0 winners over Morocco — in a Dallas semi-final on 14 July; Belgium exit in the quarter-finals.
The coaches
Luis de la Fuente Spain
His possession machine controlled the ball (68%) and the shot count but needed two spilled saves and Merino's late winner to break a stubborn Belgium; Spain are into a first semi-final since 2010.
Rudi Garcia Belgium
Lost captain Tielemans in the warm-up and keeper Courtois to injury on 71, and saw a spirited 1-1 resistance undone by a late defensive lapse; Belgium bow out in the last eight.
Availability
| Youri Tielemans | Withdrawn in the warm-up with an injury; Nicolas Raskin started in central midfield in his place | ESPN / FOX Sports |
| Thibaut Courtois | Started but forced off on 71 minutes with a quadriceps injury — could no longer take long kicks — and replaced by Senne Lammens | ESPN / Yahoo Sports |
| Amadou Onana | Out for the tournament — the torn ACL suffered against the USA; did not feature | Goal / Yahoo Sports |
| Zeno Debast | Not included in the matchday squad after facing a late fitness test in the build-up | ESPN team sheet |
| Nico Williams | Available despite a minor knock — named among the substitutes and came on for Mikel Oyarzabal on 79 minutes | ESPN team sheet |
| Dani Olmo | Started at the tip of midfield and was replaced by match-winner Mikel Merino on 86 minutes | ESPN team sheet |
Availability drifts hourly in tournament week — every row carries its source and date for exactly that reason.
Weather: SoFi Stadium's fixed canopy shields the pitch, so playing conditions are effectively controlled regardless of the mild Los Angeles weather outside. (Venue (fixed roof canopy), as of 2026-07-08)
Referee: Michael Oliver (England). An English on-field crew — assistants Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring — with Brazil's Ramón Abatti as fourth official. It was Oliver's seventh match at a World Cup, the most by any English referee. (FIFA quarter-final appointment (England Football; OneFootball; Law 5 – The Referee tracker, 8 Jul 2026), confirmed on the ESPN match data, as of 2026-07-11)
Venue: Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium), Inglewood, CA, United States — FIFA strips sponsor names for the tournament; the everyday name is in parentheses.