Spain reached the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals after defeating Belgium 2-1 in a hard-fought quarter-final at SoFi Stadium, Softfootball reportrs. Mikel Merino once again proved the hero, scoring the decisive goal late on after substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens spilled Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort.
Luis de la Fuente’s decision to start Fabián Ruiz paid off when the midfielder tapped home after Thibaut Courtois denied Dani Olmo. Belgium responded before the break as Timothy Castagne’s pinpoint cross was headed home by Charles De Ketelaere, ending Spain’s remarkable 650-minute World Cup clean-sheet streak.
Belgium suffered a major setback when Courtois was forced off injured in the 71st minute, with backup goalkeeper Lammens unable to prevent Merino’s winner. The Red Devils were also without captain Youri Tielemans after he was ruled out during the warm-up.
Spain extended their unbeaten run to 36 matches and will now face France in a mouth-watering semi-final after Les Bleus eliminated Morocco.
Player Ratings
Spain
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| Unai Simón | 5.5 |
| Marc Cucurella | 6 |
| Pau Cubarsi | 6 |
| Aymeric Laporte | 6 |
| Pedro Porro | 6.5 |
| Fabian Ruiz | 7.5 |
| Rodri | 7.5 (Man of the Match) |
| Dani Olmo | 7 |
| Alex Baena | 6 |
| Mikel Oyarzabal | 6.5 |
| Lamine Yamal | 7 |
| Subs: Pedri | 6 |
| Ferran Torres | 6 |
| Nico Williams | 5.5 |
| Mikel Merino | 7 |
Belgium
| Player | Rating |
|---|---|
| Thibaut Courtois | 6.5 |
| Maxim De Cuyper | 6.5 |
| Brandon Mechele | 6 |
| Nathan Ngoy | 6 |
| Timothy Castagne | 7 |
| Nicolas Raskin | 6 |
| Hans Vanaken | 6 |
| Kevin De Bruyne | 7 |
| Jeremy Doku | 7 |
| Charles De Ketelaere | 7.5 |
| Leandro Trossard | 5 |
| Subs: Axel Witsel | 5 |
| Joaquín Sels | 5 |
| Romelu Lukaku | 5.5 |
| Senne Lammens | 4.5 |
| Alexis Saelemaekers | 5 |
Match Statistics
| Stat | Spain | Belgium |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 67.8% | 32.2% |
| Shots | 17 | 5 |
| Shots on Target | 8 | 2 |
| Big Chances Missed | 0 | 0 |
| Corners | 5 | 1 |
| Accurate Passes | 598 | 244 |
| Passing Accuracy | 89.9% | 77.7% |
| Yellow Cards | 2 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
