Spain into semi-finals at expense of Belgium after Merino's late winner

At a glance

  • Fabian Ruiz gives Spain 1-0 lead in the 30th minute

  • Belgium restore parity through Charles de Ketelaere before break as Spain concede their first goal of tournament

  • Thibaut Courtois injured and Belgium's replacement keeper Senne Lammens spills shot to concede late Mikel Merino winner

  • Spain will now face France in the semi-final on Tuesday

  • PLAYER RATER

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

Mikel Merino emerged as Spain's hero yet again as the substitute scored in the 88th minute to stun Belgium and book his side's place in the World Cup semi-finals.

Having come off the bench to score a 91st-minute winner against Portugal in the last 16, the Arsenal midfielder stepped up with another late strike to decide a closely contested quarter-final tie in Los Angeles.

With the score tied at 1-1 and heading into extra time, Belgium substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens - brought on to replace the injured Thibaut Courtois - spilled Pau Cubarsi's 25-yard strike and Merino capitalised by planting the rebound into the roof of the net from close range.

He had only been on the pitch for 117 seconds after replacing Dani Olmo.

Fabian Ruiz had given Spain a 30th-minute lead, before they conceded their first goal of the finals when Charles de Ketelaere headed home four minutes before half-time.

Victory sealed a last-four meeting for Luis de la Fuente's European champions against France in Dallas on Tuesday, 14 July (20:00 BST).

Spain took the lead with a fine move down the right as Pedro Porro exchanged passes with Lamine Yamal before delivering a cross that found Olmo, whose initial effort was stopped by Courtois.

But Paris St-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz, starting ahead of Pedri, drilled the rebound through the legs of Timothy Castagne to give the 2010 champions the lead their early dominance deserved.

Belgium drew level 11 minutes later as De Ketelaere stole in front of Cubarsi to power home Castagne's cross - ending Spain's remarkable run of 649 minutes without conceding at the 2026 World Cup.

Rudi Garcia's side wanted a penalty after the restart when Spain defender Aymeric Laporte headed a cross on to the arm of team-mate Rodri in the box, while Mikel Oyarzabal had a shot blocked by an alert Courtois.

But the Real Madrid keeper broke down in tears when he suffered what looked like a muscle injury and had to go off in the 71st minute.

It proved pivotal in the outcome as his replacement, Manchester United stopper Lammens, came on for his third international appearance and was at fault when he failed to hold Cubarsi's shot and Merino pounced from close range.

As Belgium's campaign ended in heartbreak, Spain face France in only their second World Cup semi-final.

Analysis: Sluggish Spain need to step up in semis as Belgium fall short again

Difficult for goalkeeper to come into game so late - analysis of Spain winner

Spain have not enjoyed many good memories at the World Cup since winning their first and only title in 2010 as a group-stage exit in 2014 was followed by successive last-16 eliminations in 2018 and 2022.

However, manager De la Fuente has built a side capable of competing at the highest level once again, with their Euro 2024 triumph evidence of their prowess.

So it was no surprise La Roja were among the pundits' World Cup favourites - and are just two wins away from the title.

But the fact remains they are yet to hit top gear at this tournament.

After edging Portugal 1-0 with an injury-time Merino winner, they were again sluggish in another last-gasp success.

Belgium were up against it before the start of the last-eight tie. With Amadou Onana ruled out having ruptured his ACL in the 4-1 win over the United States, captain Youri Tielemans was injured in the warm-up to leave their midfield shorn of two quality players.

Yet Garcia's side stood firm against the Spaniards, who had few clear-cut chances after their opener and will need to find a higher level if they are to overcome two-time champions France.

Their defence, a major strength in this tournament, finally cracked, while Lamine Yamal has still yet to hit his stride.

The teenage forward tested Courtois on a couple of occasions, while also hitting the side-netting with another opportunity after some neat footwork on the edge of the box.

But apart from a role in the Ruiz goal and a few flashes of brilliance, he was largely on the periphery of the action and Spain will expect more from the Barcelona star, who will turn 19 on the eve of the semi-final.

For Belgium's 'golden generation', this was to be a painful exit as they again failed to fulfil the potential to land a major trophy.

This is likely to be the last World Cup for a host of their players, including keeper Courtois, Kevin de Bruyne, Thomas Meunier and Leandro Trossard.

So too record scorer Romelu Lukaku, who was unable to inspire another comeback from the bench to add to his three-goal tally at the tournament.

'Influential' Lamine Yamal has 'more to give' to Spain

Player of the match

J. Doku
7.61
19 Lamine Yamal
7.58
6 Mikel Merino
7.43
10 Dani Olmo
6.88
8 Fabián Ruiz
6.86
16 Rodri
6.64
20 Pedri
6.41
12 Pedro Porro
6.41
21 Mikel Oyarzabal
6.25
24 Marc Cucurella
6.17
7 Ferran Torres
6.15
23 Unai Simón
6.05
15 Álex Baena
6.00
22 Pau Cubarsí
5.98
14 Aymeric Laporte
5.87
17 Nico Williams
5.82
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