Spain grabbed a late 2-1 triumph over Belgium in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter final match on Friday 10 July, 2026 at Los Angeles Stadium, Inglewood, California, United States (US), thanks to Arsenal’s Mikel Merino’s winner.
The La Roja will now slug it out with Didier Deschamps’ France in the semi finals of the tournament. The Les Bleus saw off Morocco with a comfortable 2-0 win on Thursday in Boston to reach the last-4.
The Gunners forward came off the bench to score a rebound in the 88th minute after Belgium goalkeeper, Senne Lammens, fired a low shot.
Lammens, who fields for Manchester United, replaced injured first choice, Thibaut Courtois, at the post for the Red Devils in the 71st minute.
Paris Saint-Germaine (PSG) central midfielder, Fabian Ruiz, opened the scoring for Spain in the 30th minute, but, Atalanta forward, Charles De Ketelaere, converted Timothy Castagne’s assist to level with a header for Belgium in the 41st minute.
Spain and France will fight for a spot in the final when they collide in the semi final on Tuesday 14 July, 2026 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, US at 20:00 (WAT).
Merino came on for the La Roja and delivered the winner after also netting a late winner for Spain in the Round of 16 showdown against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. He was just only on the pitch for some seconds and found the back of the net with his second touch against the Red Devils.
Spain defeated Portugal by a lone goal in Dallas on Monday 6 July, 2026 to progress to the last-8; Merino netted the winner in the 1st minute of additional time.
Spain will be heading into the clash against tournament favourites, France, with an outstanding record of thirty-two (32) matches without defeat since 2023.
Photo: Spain players celebrate after reaching the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi finals with a 2-1 victory over Belgium in the quarter final game on Friday night in California, US
