INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In an outcome that felt inevitable for most of the game, Spain beat Belgium 2-1 with a late goal from a familiar face on Friday.
Mikel Merino, the matchwinner in the round of 16 against Portugal, pounced on a spilled save by Belgium backup Senne Lammens to finish into the roof of the net at SoFi Stadium and send Spain into the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup for only the second time.
With the win, Spain also extended their own unbeaten run to a new team record of 36 games — one short of Italy’s all-time record of 37 — to set up a juicy semifinal matchup with France on Tuesday.
Lammens was only in the game because Belgium No. 1 Thibaut Courtois was substituted with an apparent injury in the 71st minute and the Manchester United stopper should have done better in saving Pau Cubarsi’s long-distance shot, which he could only spill into the path of an onrushing Merino.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente had made one big change to his starting lineup against Belgium, with Fabián Ruiz getting the nod over Pedri. And the move paid off just after the first-half hydration break when Ruiz pounced on a rebound to give Spain the lead.
The goal came after some nice buildup down the right flank as Lamine Yamal played Pedro Porro in and he crossed to Dani Olmo, whose shot was saved by Courtois but fell right to Ruiz for an easy tap in.
Barcelona star Yamal was making his sixth appearance of the tournament on Friday, the most ever by a player age 18 or under at a World Cup.
Despite Spain’s dominance for most of the first half, Belgium drew level shortly before the break when Timothy Castagne fired in a perfect cross for Charles De Ketelaere to beat Unai Simón with a glancing header.
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Belgium’s goal was the first that Spain and goalkeeper Simon had conceded this summer and brought an end to a record 650-minute scoreless streak at the World Cup that stretched back to 2022, when Ao Tanaka scored against them in the group stage in Qatar.
Spain continued to have more of the ball to start the second half, but Belgium also looked dangerous in spurts, with Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne combining with some clever interplay and almost setting up a go-ahead goal.
But Belgium took a big hit in the 71st minute when Courtois was withdrawn after being slow to get up following a clearance. He walked to the sidelines after receiving treatment on the field and looked set to continue only to be replaced by Lammens minutes later.
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It wasn’t first injury hit for Belgium, who had captain Youri Tielemans scratched from the lineup before kickoff because of an injury in warmups.
Tielemans had been a key player for Belgium in their run to the quarterfinals, featuring in every match during the group stage and scoring twice in a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Senegal in the round of 32.
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Global Research was used in this report.
