FIFA World Cup

Quarter-finals

ESP Spain Spain - BEL Belgium Belgium

Spain Spain

Belgium Belgium

M. Merino
88'

41'
C. De Ketelaere
F. Ruiz
30'

Los Angeles Stadium(Sold out)

Michael Oliver

Full-time: Spain 2-1 Belgium

It doesn't matter. Spain have held on to the win, and they will be playing France in the semi-final. Once again, the Spaniards have Merino to thank. The Arsenal man seems to know exactly where he is needed when he comes off the bench, and he has won Spain a second knockout round in a row at the death.

End of second half

Full-time

90'

+ 7

Perhaps foolish

Cucurella tries his luck from range with just seconds left on the clock, and Lammens makes the save. Surely he would be better served heading for the corner flag.

90'

+ 5

Witsel the next in the book

Witsel catches Rodri on the ankle and picks up a yellow.

90'

+ 5

Yellow card

Axel Witsel

90'

+ 3

Another card

Laporte brings down Doku and picks up a yellow.

90'

+ 3

Yellow card

Aymeric Laporte

90'

+ 2

Almost a big mistake

Saelemaekers beats Simón to the ball, and the goalkeeper is in no man's land. Luckily for him, Laporte gets back to clear Saelemaekers' cross before Lukaku can fire home.

90'

+ 1

Added time

Belgium have seven minutes to save themselves from elimination.

Merino has done it again

Spain lead thanks to their supersub once more. Cubarsí has far too much space to shoot, and it is an awkward effort that Lammens spills into the path of Merino, and he gratefully fires home what could well be the winner.

88'

Mikel Merino

GOAL!

2:1

Goal probability

Goal probability determines the likelihood that the ball will land in the goal from every position on the pitch. The value is based on large amounts of data from previous years; factors such as shot angle, distance to goal and opponent pressure - as well as mathematical models.

60 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

4.81 m

86'

Changes from both sides

Scorer of the winning goal against Portugal, Merino is on for Olmo. For Belgium, Saelemaekers replaces De Bruyne.

86'

Substitution

Mikel Merino

Dani Olmo

86'

Substitution

Alexis Saelemaekers

Kevin De Bruyne

85'

De Bruyne in the book

The Napoli man pulls Torres to the ground and earns himself a yellow card.

85'

Yellow card

Kevin De Bruyne

84'

Opportunity wasted

Rodri dinks a lovely ball over the top to Yamal, but he can't quite bring it under his spell and Lammens rushes out to claim the loose ball.

79'

Another roll of the dice

Williams is on for Oyarzabal.

79'

Substitution

Nico Williams

Mikel Oyarzabal

77'

Lots of passes

Not a lot of chances. That has been the story of the game so far for Spain.

Passes

533

242

71'

Courtois replaced

The Belgian goalkeeper can't continue and tearfully leaves the field to be replaced by Manchester United's Senne Lammens. That's a tough one to take.

71'

Substitution

Senne Lammens

Thibaut Courtois

70'

Back underway

The opportunity was taken as Courtois received treatment for the second hydration break. We're back underway once more.

66'

Worrying

Belgium goalkeeper Courtois has gone to the ground with an apparent injury. Looks like it could be muscle-related.

Who will make the break through?

The game is slowly opening up a little more, which could lead to some better opportunities in the final 25 minutes.

62'

Chances at both ends once more

Belgium want a penalty after the ball bounces off Rodri's arm. The ball then falls for De Bruyne, whose shot is saved. At the other end, Yamal finds Oyarzabal, who forces a save from Courtois from an angle.

61'

Yamal forces a save

The Barca man dips inside and shoots, although Courtois is equal to the effort.

61'

Triple change

First changes for Belgium, and there are three of them as Seys, Lukaku and Witsel all enter the action.

61'

Substitution

Joaquin Seys

Maxim De Cuyper

60'

Substitution

Romelu Lukaku

Hans Vanaken

60'

Substitution

Axel Witsel

Leandro Trossard

59'

Spain look the more likely

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

But Belgium have already proven they can score out of nothing.

xGoals

1.5

0.36

Goals

55'

Double change

Spain make the first changes of the match as the goalscorer Ruiz is off and replaced by Pedri. Torres for Baena is the other change for Spain.

55'

Side-netting

Doku and De Bruyne combine to set the former loose in the box. His low cross is blocked and falls for De Cuyper, who drives a powerful shot into the side-netting.

55'

Substitution

Pedri

Fabián Ruiz

55'

Substitution

Ferrán Torres

Álex Baena

53'

Off target

The resulting Spanish short corner is cleared only as far as Olmo, but his shot is a long way off target.

52'

Deflected wide

Cucerella almost bundles his way through the middle, and in the end, the ball drops for Yamal, whose low shot deflects just wide of the far post.

48'

Offside

Yamal gets on the end of a ball in behind, but he can't beat Courtois. It wouldn't have counted, though; the flag was up anyway.

46'

Back underway

Spain get the ball moving once more.

Kick-off!

Half-time: Spain 1-1 Belgium

After a slow start, this game has burst into life in the last 15 minutes. Ruiz opened the scoring just moments after the first save of the match, only for De Ketelaere to answer back shortly before the break. We have a real game on our hands now.

Half-time

45'

+ 4

Ouch

Oyarzabal and Olmo clash heads in the middle of the park, and the referee stops play immediately so the duo can receive treatment.

45'

+ 2

Opportunities at both ends

First, Ruiz has a chance charged down in the box, and then Belgium break through De Ketelaere. He just needs to squeeze the ball through to the free Doku on the far side, but Olmo is there to make a vital interception.

45'

+ 1

Added time

There will be five extra minutes before the break.

45'

+ 1

Way off target

Porro has a strike from the edge of the box, but misses the target by some margin.

43'

Cubarsí in the book

The Spanish defender falls to the ground making a challenge and then pulls De Bruyne down by his shorts, earning the Barcelona man a yellow card.

43'

Yellow card

Pau Cubarsí

Belgium are level

The Red Devils try to work the ball down the right and eventually find Castagne in space. He whips in a good cross that De Ketelaere does well to get on the end of and nod home. We've got a match on our hands now. That is the first goal Spain have conceded at this tournament.

41'

Charles De Ketelaere

GOAL!

1:1

Assist:T. Castagne

Goal probability

22 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

6.93 m

40'

Wonderful from Yamal

Yamal is really growing into the game now. This time, he skips past a combination of De Cuyper and Doku to work shooting space inside the box. He whips a shot towards the near post, but he can't quite hit the target.

36'

Oops

Referee Michael Oliver inadvertently stops a Spanish attack by blocking the path of Olmo. The English official gestures apologetically to the crowd.

35'

Yamal denied

The teenage star wins a free-kick in a good position and then shoots himself, driving in a low effort that Courtois has to parry.

32'

A painful one

To add insult to injury, Castagne catches a flailing arm from Cucerella in the face just moments after nearly keeping that goal out. He needs treatment for what seems to be a nosebleed.

Out of nowhere

Barely a chance on goal in the first 30 minutes, and suddenly Spain lead. Porro and Yamal combine neatly on the right to set the defender through in the box. He then fires a low cross back to the open Olmo, who fires in a shot that Courtois does well to parry. However, the ball drops straight into the path of Ruiz, who sweeps home through the legs of Castagne to open the scoring.

30'

Fabián Ruiz

GOAL!

1:0

Goal probability

42 %

Distance to Goal

The distance to goal is measured at the time of the shot - from the position of the ball to the center of the goal.

6.69 m

26'

Back underway

The ball is moving once more.

24'

Drinks break

Both players stop for a mandatory hydration break.

Yamal improving

After a slow opening few minutes, the game is slowly opening up, and Yamal is getting into more dangerous positions for Spain.

21'

Yamal curls an effort wide

Nicolas Raskin has his pocket picked by Mikel Oyarzabal, and the ball drops for Yamal on the edge of the box. He looks to curl an effort into the far corner, but he can't quite get the necessary bend on the shot.

18'

Good delivery

Belgium work the ball forward neatly once again, and De Bruyne sends in a cross that De Cuyper almost gets on the end of. Unfortunately for the Belgian defender, he is adjudged to have fouled Porro in the process of challenging for the ball.

16'

Olmo nearly finds space in the box

Baena plays a disguised pass into Olmo in the box. He tries to spin on it, but he can never quite bring the ball under his spell enough to get the shot away.

15'

Belgium's first shot is blocked

De Bruyne sets Doku running on the left, and he skips inside before feeding De Ketelaere on the far edge of the box. He dips inside and shoots, only to find a wall of Spanish players in front of him ready to make the block.

13'

Another block from Ngoy

Baena gets on the end of a long ball and tries to shoot on the spin, but once more, Spain find Ngoy blocking their path.

10'

First half-chance

Yamal wins a free-kick in a good position that is whipped into the box and only half cleared. The ball is then fed back across to Rodri, who fires towards goal, but Ngoy is there to make an important block.

Belgium looking long

The Red Devils haven't had much of the ball so far, but when they have, they have looked to play vertically pretty quickly. It was a tactic that worked for them against the US.

Spain dominating early possession

Don't expect that to stop anytime soon. The European champions are masters of keeping the ball.

We're underway

Belgium get the game started and nearly get Vanaken in behind immediately, but he isn't quite quick enough.

Kick-off!

Players on the pitch

The national anthems have been played, and the players are nearly ready to go. Who will join France in the semi-final?

De la Fuente's impressive record

The Spanish coach has won all six of his knockout games in charge of Spain. If he wins his seventh today, he'll move level with Vicente del Bosque, who won his first seven in a row with Spain and just one behind the record holder, Vittorio Pozzo, who managed Italy to wins his first eight knockout games between 1934 and 1938. Both of those managers won at least one World Cup.

Into the warm ups

The teams are out on the grass as they gear up for action.

Crunch time

Who will be joining France in the semi-finals?

More on that Spain team

Spain make just one change to the team that beat Portugal, as Pedri makes way for Fabián Ruiz (pictured).

More on that Belgium team

The Belgian Red Devils make two changes to the team that swept the USA aside, with Doku and De Bruyne (pictured) coming in for Lukébakio and the injured Onana.

Starting line-up: Belgium

Formation:4-2-3-1

Starting line-up: Spain

Formation:4-3-3

Spain subs

Raya, J. García, Pubill, Grimaldo, E. García, Llorente, Merino, Gavi, Zubimendi, Pedri, Torres, Pino, Williams, Muñoz, Iglesias

Belgium subs

Lammens, Penders, Theate, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Witsel, Moreira, Vanaken, Saelemaekers, Lukaku, Lukébakio, Fernandez-Pardo

0:51

Watch: Theate's Bundesliga highlight reel

Theate hoping to return

Eintracht Frankfurt defender Arthur Theate was an unused substitute for Belgium against the USA last time out, but after going the distance in the Red Devils' matches against New Zealand and Senegal, the 26-year-old will be hopeful of playing some part against the reigning European champions.

2:24

Watch: All of Axel Witsel's goals and assists from 2019/20

Now one of Belgium's senior players, Witsel still has plenty to offer should he get on the pitch.

10:07

Watch: All of Alejandro Grimaldo's Bundesliga goals and assists

Should Grimaldo be called upon in this quarter-final, he'll certainly be able to cause the Belgian defence problems, whether that be with his pinpoint crosses or precise free-kicks.

2:44

Watch: The best of Dani Olmo

The former RB Leipzig star will hope he can be the man to fire Spain into a meeting with France.

Winners to face France

France saw off the challenge of Morocco in their quarter-final tie, securing a deserved 2-0 win thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappé (pictured) and Ousmane Dembélé. They await the winner of this game in the semis.

0:52

Watch: Belgium's Bundesliga players ranked

0:40

Watch: Belgian fans loving on De Bruyne & his Bundesliga past

3:59

Watch: De Bruyne - Made in the Bundesliga

It was through his impressive time in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen and Wolfsburg that Belgium's talisman has gone on to become one of the world's best players.

Head-to-head

These two European nations have met 23 times before, with Spain winning 12 to Belgium's five. They last met in a September 2016 friendly, which La Roja won 2-0 to extend their unbeaten run in this fixture to eight games. No Spain current players featured that day, but Thibaut Courtois, Thomas Meunier, Axel Witsel, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku all played. The Red Devils' last victory was on penalties at this same stage in the 1986 World Cup (also held in Mexico); their last in 90 minutes was at Euro 1980.

How they got here: Belgium

The Red Devils topped Group G on goal difference ahead of Egypt after a 5-1 win over New Zealand and two draws with Iran and the Pharaohs. Rudi Garcia's side then came from 2-0 down with a dramatic late comeback to beat Senegal 3-2 in extra-time before a more comprehensive 4-1 victory over co-hosts USA in the round of 16.

How they got here: Spain

The European champions are the only team yet to concede a goal at this World Cup and have set a new tournament record of six consecutive clean sheets (going back to 2022), finishing top of Group H with two wins and a goalless draw with Cabo Verde before seeing off Austria 3-0 in the round of 32. Mikel Merino then scored the only goal of the game in the 90th minute to eliminate neighbours Portugal in the last 16.

Welcome!

Follow all of the action as Spain take on Belgium in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals, kicking off at 9pm CEST on Friday, 10 July in Los Angeles.