Merino strikes late again as Spain edge Belgium to reach the World Cup semi-finals
A late Mikel Merino goal settled a tense quarter-final at SoFi Stadium and booked Spain a last-four meeting with France.
Jul 11, 2026
Spain needed a late goal to get past Belgium, and the man who provided it was the same one who did it in the previous round. Mikel Merino turned in a loose ball two minutes from time at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to settle a tight quarter-final overnight, sending the European champions into the World Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 win. They will play France in Dallas on Tuesday for a place in the final.
Ruiz and De Ketelaere trade first-half goals
Spain controlled the opening half hour and took the lead in the 30th minute. Dani Olmo had a shot blocked, the ball squirted loose on the edge of the area, and Fabián Ruiz was there to lash it into the net. It was the reward for a spell of pressure that had pinned Belgium back.
The lead lasted ten minutes. Timothy Castagne floated a cross in and Charles De Ketelaere climbed to head it past Unai Simón, pulling Belgium level and ending a clean-sheet run that had stretched past 600 World Cup minutes. For a side that had ridden its luck to reach the last eight, going in at 1-1 against the tournament favourites felt like a win in itself.
Courtois forced off in tears
The tie turned on an injury rather than a moment of quality. Thibaut Courtois had kept Belgium in it with a run of saves, and looked set to drag them towards extra time. Then he pulled up clutching his quad and could not carry on, leaving the field in tears in the 71st minute. Senne Lammens came on in his place, handed a knockout tie to protect with barely 20 minutes on the clock.
It was a cruel way for the 34-year-old to bow out, and it left Belgium exposed at exactly the wrong time. Spain, sensing it, pushed more men forward and turned the screw on a defence that had held firm for an hour.
Merino does it late, again
The winner came in the 88th minute. Pau Cubarsí drilled an effort towards goal, Lammens could only push it back out into the six-yard box, and Merino reacted quickest to force the rebound over the line. There was little the substitute keeper could have done, but the finish still owed everything to Merino’s habit of turning up in these moments.
It was the second knockout round in a row he has decided with a late goal, after the stoppage-time strike that ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup and knocked out Portugal. Lamine Yamal had spent the night tormenting Belgium’s back line without quite finding a goal, so it was fitting that Spain’s midfield settled it.
France, who beat Morocco to reach the last four, stand between Spain and the final. It sets up a heavyweight semi in Dallas, and on this evidence Spain will not fear anyone, even if they keep leaving it late.