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Spain knock out Belgium to storm World Cup 2026 semi-finals
11th July, 2026 12:08 AM
Spain are through to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 after edging Belgium 2-1 in a dramatic quarter-final played at Los Angeles Stadium on Friday, July 10, 2026.
A late winner from Mikel Merino sealed Spain’s place in the last four, where they will now face France in a highly anticipated semi-final scheduled for Tuesday.
Spain dominated much of the contest, enjoying the lion’s share of possession and creating numerous scoring opportunities before Merino struck in the closing stages to break Belgian hearts.
The Spaniards opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Fabián Ruiz, who calmly found the back of the net after sustained pressure from Luis de la Fuente’s side.
Belgium, however, responded just before halftime through Charles De Ketelaere, whose goal in the 41st minute brought the Red Devils level and also ended Spain’s remarkable run of five consecutive clean sheets at the tournament.
With both sides pushing for a winner in the second half, Spain continued to dominate proceedings while Belgium defended resolutely and looked dangerous on the counterattack.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 87th minute when Mikel Merino capitalised on a costly mistake from Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens to slot home the winning goal and send Spain into the semi-finals.
Merino’s decisive strike sparked jubilant celebrations among the Spanish players and supporters as Belgium’s hopes of progressing came to a heartbreaking end.
Spain controlled the match statistically, finishing with 68 per cent possession compared to Belgium’s 32 per cent.
The Spaniards also registered 18 shots, with eight on target, while Belgium managed only five attempts, two of which tested the goalkeeper.
Belgium’s preparations for the match were disrupted before kick-off after captain Youri Tielemans suffered an injury during the warm-up.
Their problems worsened in the second half when first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off injured in the 71st minute, dealing another major blow to their chances of reaching the semi-finals.
Author
Steve Ireri
Steve is a senior writer with over four years of experience in digital journalism. His focus is on the showbiz and human interest stories. Emails: [email protected] , [email protected]
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