World Cup: Spain tops Belgium on Mikel Merino's late goal, sets up semifinal vs. France

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INGLEWOOD - In the late moments on Friday afternoon, Spain found a way in its World Cup quarterfinal, thanks to Mikel Merino, again.

Locked in a tough and tight draw on a sun-drenched day at Los Angeles Stadium, Merino knocked in a rebound in the 88th minute on a spilled shot to secure a 2-1 victory over Belgium in front of 70,492 and set up a semifinal showdown with France.

"Very happy with the win," Merino said. "It's a massive step for us, playing in a semifinal after 16 years. I think this team has very, very high ceiling. Our goal is to always improve. Today, I think we deserved a little more, in terms of chances or goals, because we created a lot, but we got the win and hopefully next game we can see an even brighter Spain."

Spain and France will square off on Tuesday at noon PT in Dallas. The most recent meeting between the teams came in last year's UEFA Nations League semifinal, with Spain winning a thriller, 5-4.

This is Spain's second trip to the semifinals. The last trip came in 2010, when it went on to win its first World Cup.

Since then, Spain suffered through three consecutive early exits, first a group stage departure in 2014 and Round of 16 losses in 2018 and 2022.

"We are one of teams everybody says has potential for final," Spanish coach Luis De La Fuente said. "We're very aware of the potential of our (semifinal) opponent. We are very clear that we have quality to beat France. The game will be very demanding and we have to be the best version of ourselves. It will be a clash of giants."

Pau Cubarsi's long-distance shot on goal wasn't handled cleanly by backup Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens and before he could regain his footing to get to the ball, Merino, who entered the game in the 86th minute, had the finisher for the win.

It was Merino's second game-winning goal of the tournament. The Arsenal forward scored in the 91st minute in Monday's Round of 16 victory over Portugal.

"I've done this again, and it's happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists," a smiling Merino said. "If you're ready and you try, it can happen for you. I'm very, very pleased."

Merino is the first player in World Cup history to score the winning goal in two different knockout round matches as a substitute.

"Everybody understands their role," De La Fuente said. "That's truly the great benefit of this squad. If you choose the squad properly, they're ready for you, but if you make mistakes, there could be issues. They are perfect in the national squad and their club.

"This is team full of heart. They are committed. They know the demands and we push them to do better."

Lammens didn't start for Belgium. The Manchester United goalkeeper entered the game in the 72nd minute, replacing Thibault Courtois, who left with a thigh injury. The question facing Belgium is whether or not Courtois would have handled Cubarsi's shot better.

Courtois made four saves, but the Real Madrid goalkeeper went down to the grass four minutes before his substitution. He received treatment during the hydration break, but he left the match in tears. He said after the game that "he felt a lot of pain" in his quadriceps, adding that he "had no problem with staying in goal."

Only Germany's Manuel Neuer has played more World Cup matches than Courtois, while Lammens had not yet played at this year's World Cup.

Even before Courtois' departure, Spain was starting to take control of the game, pinning back the Belgian defense, which had managed to remain strong until the 88th minute.

The day started out as if Spain was due for a comfortable day.

Fabian Ruiz put Spain ahead, 1-0, in the 30th minute, following up a shot from Dani Olmo that had been blocked by a Belgian defender.

The lead, which usually would have been secure, even at 1-0, didn't last long this time.

Charles De Ketelaere, who tortured the United States with a pair of first-half goals in Monday's Round of 16, headed in a cross from Timothy Castagne past Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón, knotting the score at 1-1. It was the first goal Spain had allowed in the tournament and snapped a consecutive shutout streak of 649 minutes for Simón, the longest streak in World Cup history.

Spain entered the game with six consecutive shutouts, dating to the 2022 tournament.

As expected, Belgium didn't have much possession in the first half, but De Ketelaere's goal was the perfect action to head into halftime.

"We came very close to extra time and managed to look Spain straight in the eye," Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said.

After a slow start with consecutive draws, Belgium found its offensive form to finish on top of Group G. Starting with the final group match against New Zealand and through the knockout rounds, Belgium found its attack.

Belgium scored five goals against New Zealand, scored three in the final 20 minutes to defeat Senegal in the Round of 32, then put four goals past U.S. goalkeeper Matt Freese in a 4-1 win.

Belgium advanced to the semifinals in 2018, losing to France, 1-0. The team regrouped to win the third-place game, defeating England, 2-0.

"The players were up for the fight," Garcia of Friday's loss. "We needed lady luck on our side and unfortunately, she was smiling at Spain and not Belgium."

The other half of the semifinal bracket will be set up Saturday when Norway squares off with England and Argentina meets Switzerland. France advanced by defeating Morocco, 2-0, on Thursday.

"Everyone has been waiting for this match to happen," Spain's Lamine Yamal said. "Spain and France are the best two teams in the World Cup, we are going to stand up to them. France has high-quality players, we will try to keep possession of the ball."

Spain remained unbeaten since March 2023 in a streak of 37 matches, while Belgium's streak of 18 straight unbeaten matches ended.

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 2:43 PM.