​Spain, the European champions, are on a World Cup collision course with Kylian Mbappe’s France if they can topple Belgium in a quarter-final on Friday. At the glittering SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the Belgians face the formidable task of breaking through a Spanish defense that has not yet conceded a goal in the tournament. If Spain prevail, they will head to Texas next Tuesday for a highly anticipated semi-final against France, a clash many observers already regard as the final before the final. But first, Spain must find a way past a Belgium side that began the World Cup slowly but have grown in strength as the tournament has progressed. Their 4-1 dismantling of the USA in the previous round underscored how far Belgium has come under coach Roberto Martinez’s successor Rudi Garcia in only a few weeks.
Spain, meanwhile, have not shown the attacking pizzazz typically associated with Mbappe’s France, yet they continue to play the possession-based football that carried the country to its sole World Cup triumph in 2010. Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, who turns 19 next week, is Spain’s brightest attacking talent, though he arrived in the United States after a late-season injury and has often appeared peripheral, managing just one goal in five games. Widely tipped to inherit the mantle of the world’s greatest player from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, Yamal could be due for a breakthrough. “We know that the best version of him—the attacking Lamine—is something we haven’t quite seen yet in this World Cup. Not to the level we’re used to,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said. In Yamal’s absence, Mikel Oyarzabal has stepped up, tallying four goals, including a brace in the 3-0 win over Austria in the last-32 at SoFi.
Spain have been solid at the back too, conceding just six shots on target across five matches so far. “Better and better” has been the refrain as the tournament has progressed. Belgium, by contrast, opened their group campaign looking heavy and their stars aging, yet they found resilience and spark when it mattered. They produced an exciting comeback against Senegal in the last 32, with Youri Tielemans steering them from 2-0 down to a 3-2 victory after Romelu Lukaku’s introduction as a substitute changed the dynamic. The Belgians then thrashed the United States in the last 16, in a game that was overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn Folarin Balogun’s red card from the previous round. That controversial move energized Belgium, who even playfully teased Trump with an on-field parody of the president’s YMCA dance.
For many, this World Cup marks the last hurrah for Belgium’s so-called Golden Generation, a group that includes Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne—formerly named Premier League Player of the Year—and Thibaut Courtois, the towering Real Madrid goalkeeper. Belgium nevertheless remain comfortable with their underdog status. “Everyone is already talking about us going home. But we think that we can do it,” Garcia said. “We believe we can pull it off, and we’ll do everything we can to reach the semi-finals.”