Spain are back in a World Cup semifinal for the first time since their 2010 title run, and once again Mikel Merino was the late-game difference. La Roja beat Belgium 2-1 on July 10 at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, turning a tight quarterfinal into a France-bound statement through Merino's 88th-minute finish.
The decisive sequence came after Belgium had already absorbed a major blow. Thibaut Courtois left the match in the second half with an upper-leg injury, an emotional exit that forced Senne Lammens into the biggest minutes of Belgium's tournament. Late in regulation, Lammens could not hold a long-range effort, and Merino reacted first to score the winner.
Fabián Ruiz had given Spain the lead in the 30th minute after being brought into the starting XI, but Belgium answered in the 41st when Charles De Ketelaere headed in from Timothy Castagne's delivery. That goal ended Spain's long shutout run, widely tracked at roughly 650 minutes, and briefly made the match feel like Belgium's veteran core had found a way back into control.
Instead, Spain's bench tilted the game. Merino's cameo carried echoes of his earlier knockout heroics: he had already scored a decisive late goal against Portugal in this tournament and was remembered across Europe for his extra-time winner against Germany at Euro 2024. On Friday, the pattern became impossible to ignore: Spain can keep the ball, rotate the team, and still find a finisher when the match turns chaotic.
The result sends Spain to a July 14 semifinal against France in Dallas, a meeting that now feels like the tournament's sharpest tactical contrast. France arrive with Kylian Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele in full rhythm after beating Morocco 2-0, while Spain bring the tournament's longest unbeaten arc, reported at 37 matches since March 2023.
Belgium's exit is harder to separate from injuries than from tactics. Youri Tielemans was reportedly removed from the lineup during warm-ups, Amadou Onana had already been lost earlier in the knockout stage, and Courtois' second-half injury became the emotional image of the quarterfinal. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku still pushed Belgium forward late, but the equalizer never came.
For Spain, the bigger lesson is depth. Fabián Ruiz scored after replacing Pedri in the XI, Lamine Yamal remained influential enough to draw man-of-the-match attention, and Merino again made a short substitute appearance feel decisive. Luis de la Fuente's team did not need a perfect attacking display; they needed patience, structure, and one fast reaction inside the box.
The host-city angle now shifts from Southern California to Texas. Fans who traveled to Inglewood for the quarterfinal will have only a few days to re-route toward Dallas for Spain-France, with flight prices, hotel inventory, and July heat all becoming part of the semifinal week calculation.
Key numbers: Spain 2, Belgium 1; goals by Fabián Ruiz, Charles De Ketelaere, and Mikel Merino; Merino winner in the 88th minute; Spain's first World Cup semifinal since 2010; Spain-France scheduled for July 14 in Dallas.
The matchup also changes the shape of the final week. France look like the most explosive side left in the bracket, but Spain just survived the kind of quarterfinal that champions usually must negotiate: a conceded goal, an opponent with elite experience, and a late moment that demanded composure rather than control.
Belgium leave with a strong Round-of-16 win over the United States and a competitive quarterfinal, but also with a familiar question about timing. The De Bruyne-Courtois-Lukaku generation again reached a major knockout stage without lifting the trophy, and the injury-hit finish in Inglewood may become the defining image of their 2026 exit.