​No wonder Spain boss Luis de la Fuente can’t resist keeping Mikel Merino on the bench. It’s now two World Cup knockout games, two wins secured by the left boot of the Arsenal midfielder. On Monday, his winner came against Portugal in Dallas; here in the Californian sunshine, he was quickest to react after anticipating an error from the Belgian goalkeeper. Slamming the ball into the roof of the net two minutes from time, Merino propelled his country into a tantalising semi-final duel with France, another European heavyweight, in a clash set for Tuesday. Yet this tale did not unfold as Belgium had hoped. The tide swung cruelly 20 minutes from the final whistle when Thibaut Courtois, among the world’s greatest keepers, trudged off in visible distress with a thigh injury. His capable deputy, Man United’s Senne Lammens, stepped in, but it was Lammens’ mistake that loomed large: failing to hold Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort, then spilling the ball straight into Merino’s path, leaving the lasting image of Belgium’s World Cup campaign as a costly miscue.
And so European champions Spain march on. The performance was far from flawless, and Belgium will lament the handful of half-chances squandered in the second half. Yet nearly 16 years to the day since the 2010 generation grabbed the world stage in South Africa, this 2026 squad took another step toward their nation’s second triumph. Now they must face Kylian Mbappe and the irresistible French attack in four days’ time under the air-conditioned dome of Dallas Stadium. What a match that promises to be. The moment in the 88th minute when Senne Lammens spilt a routine ball straight into Merino’s path will be remembered as a turning point, a cruel image for a proud Belgian side.
Spain’s incredible run continues, extending to 36 consecutive matches unbeaten in competitive play. Although their clean-sheet record—650 World Cup minutes without conceding—found a crack here, the overarching aim of their summer campaign remains intact. As they accepted the ovation of roughly 70,000 in Los Angeles, a crowd predominantly behind Spain, their progress felt secure, even if their grip on the result wavered for a spell. Belgium had not faced Spain in a decade, and Spain had not lost to Belgium in 11 meetings against their European counterparts, dating back to a World Cup quarter-final shoot-out defeat 40 years earlier in Puebla City, Mexico. In the same hot, humid conditions of Inglewood, with a noon kickoff, one wondered if the underdog’s tale could repeat itself here.
Perhaps the weight of history explains why Belgium boss Rudi Garcia recalled his heavy artillery—Jeremy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne—after surprising omissions threatened to derail their progression from the previous round. Yet they suffered a cruel blow just 12 minutes before kickoff when captain Youri Tielemans pulled up with a hamstring injury in the warm-up. Still, in a baking-hot first quarter—one of the World Cup’s signature conditions—Belgium battled to extract the best from the occasion, while Spain, fully aware of the stakes, pressed with quiet efficiency. The match delivered drama, but in the end it was Spain who advanced, their path toward another major prize illuminated, even as the heat of the moment left its mark on a Belgian side whose journey this summer will be read as both brave and heartbreakingly close.