Merino's Late Strike Sends Spain Past Belgium and Into World Cup Semifinal With France

Substitute Mikel Merino struck late for the second straight knockout round, pouncing on a goalkeeping error in the 88th minute to give Spain a 2-1 win over Belgium at SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, and send Luis de la Fuente's side into the semifinals to face France.

Spain went ahead in the 30th minute in a goal built through patient buildup down the right. Lamine Yamal, playing in his sixth match of the tournament at just 18 years old, played in Pedro Porro, whose cross found Dani Olmo. Olmo's shot was saved by Thibaut Courtois, but the rebound fell perfectly for Fabián Ruiz, who tapped it in from close range. It marked the first time this tournament that Ruiz had started ahead of Pedri, and the change paid off immediately.

Belgium answered before the break, ending a run of more than 600 scoreless minutes for Spain that stretched back years. Timothy Castagne whipped in a precise cross from the right, and Charles De Ketelaere rose above his marker to head it past Unai Simón, leveling the score at 1-1 heading into halftime.

The second half stayed tight, with Belgium finding moments of danger through Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne, but the game turned in Belgium's favor for the worse when Courtois was forced off in the 71st minute after appearing to hurt himself on a clearance. His replacement, Senne Lammens, struggled to make an immediate impact, and it proved costly. 

In the 88th minute, Pau Cubarsí let fly from around 25 yards out, and Lammens could only parry the shot into the path of Merino, who finished into the roof of the net to complete the comeback. It was the second straight knockout match in which Merino had come off the bench to score a late winner, having done the same against Portugal in the round of 16.

Belgium's misfortune compounded an already difficult buildup to the match, with captain Youri Tielemans ruled out before kickoff due to an injury sustained in warmups, despite having scored twice in Belgium's dramatic round of 32 win over Senegal.

By the Numbers

Spain dominated the game from start to finish in terms of territory and control, finishing with somewhere around two-thirds of the possession and more than double Belgium's passing total, completed at a noticeably higher accuracy rate. The gap in attacking output was just as wide. Spain outshot Belgium by more than three to one and put roughly eight shots on target compared with just two for Belgium, backed up by an expected-goals total well over five times higher than their opponents'.

Belgium leaned heavily on defending and set pieces to stay competitive, committing more fouls than Spain as they worked to break up the sustained pressure, and doing much of their damage in the air, where they held a clear edge in aerial duels, including the one that produced their equalizer. But with the ball spending so much time in Belgium's half, the eventual breakthrough always felt like a matter of when rather than if.

Standout Performers

Courtois was singled out as the best player on the pitch despite ending up on the losing side, making several key saves before his injury forced him off. 

Rodri controlled tempo from deep for Spain throughout, while Yamal and De Ketelaere both had strong showings on the flanks. Merino, for the second match running, was the difference-maker off the bench.

What it Means

The win extends Spain's unbeaten run to a new national record, just one match shy of Italy's all-time mark, and sends them into a semifinal meeting with France in Dallas on Tuesday. It's only the second time in Spain's history they've reached the World Cup semifinals. 

For Belgium, the loss ends a run that included eliminating the United States in the round of 16, but they exit the tournament just short of the final four