Heartbreak at SoFi Stadium
Spain are into the World Cup semifinals after Mikel Merino’s 88th-minute winner sank Belgium 2-1 at SoFi Stadium on Friday night, extending La Roja’s unbeaten run through the tournament and breaking Belgian hearts in the cruellest way imaginable. The quarterfinal had been framed as perfect defence against red-hot attack, and it delivered a contest worthy of the billing until its brutal final act.
Fabian Ruiz gave Spain the lead with a composed finish, continuing the midfielder’s outstanding tournament. But Belgium, even after losing captain Youri Tielemans to an injury suffered in the warmup, refused to fold. Charles De Ketelaere — the breakout star of Belgium's demolition of the USA — equalised with the kind of intelligent movement and finish that has defined his tournament, and for long spells the Red Devils looked the likelier winners.
Cruel Twist for Lammens
Belgium’s night unravelled through misfortune. Thibaut Courtois, imperious for much of the match, pulled up with an apparent thigh injury and was replaced by Manchester United’s Senne Lammens in the 71st minute. The young keeper did little wrong until the 88th minute, when Pau Cubarsi’s long-range drive squirmed through his grasp. Merino, on the pitch for barely two minutes as an 86th-minute substitute, reacted first and swept the rebound home with his second touch of the match.
It was a moment of devastating deja vu for neutrals who had watched Merino play the hero before: the Arsenal midfielder also scored the decisive goal when Spain edged Portugal in the round of 16, ending Cristiano Ronaldo’s final World Cup. Two knockout rounds, two Merino winners, and a growing sense that this Spain side simply finds a way.
Unbeaten Spain March On
The victory preserves Spain’s perfect record at this World Cup and sets up a mouth-watering semifinal against France in the Dallas area on Tuesday — a collision between the tournament’s most complete team and its most feared attack. Luis de la Fuente’s side have now conceded just twice all tournament while Lamine Yamal, Fabian Ruiz and the emerging Cubarsi continue to blend youth and control in a way no opponent has solved.
For Belgium, the exit stings all the more for its circumstances. Shorn of their captain before kickoff and their goalkeeper midway through the second half, they matched the best team in the tournament for 87 minutes. De Ketelaere leaves as one of the World Cup’s revelations, but the golden generation’s successors are still waiting for their breakthrough. Spain, meanwhile, march on — and no one left in the draw will relish facing them.
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