Spain scores late goal to defeat Belgium 2-1, advances to meet France in semifinals

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente was happy his team advanced past Belgium but has been serious during his post-match press conference.

"Let me be clear we are not finished," de la Fuente said, through a translator. "… We are here for more."

Up next is France in the semifinal. The French have been perhaps the most dominant team of this tournament.

"The game will be very demanding, it will be energetic," de la Fuente said. "We’ll need the best version of ourselves."

This game will be remembered for the injury to Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois that led him to be taken off around the 73-minute mark, only for his backup Senne Lammens to let in in the go-ahead goal in the 88th minute.

Rudi Garcia, the Belgian coach, said that Courtois had suffered a muscular injury.

After scoring a go-ahead goal for Spain in a second consecutive match, Mikel Merino credited Belgium's defense for being difficult to play against but felt confident he could make a play.

"I trust myself and I know what to do whenever I have the chance," Merino said after the match via an interpreter. "This time I had an opportunity to do something for the team but we need to trust that the opponent's goalkeeper will make a mistake."

That's just what happened, when Senne Lammens saved a shot in the 88th minute but the ball bounced away from him, and Merino fired in the rebound for a goal.

Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente "didn’t say much" by way of instructions when Merino checked in, according to the player "He just said that I was going to be No. 10 and at the end of the match he said, 'You’re incredible!' Those are the two things he said."

Spain is off to the semifinals after holding on for a 2-1 victory over Belgium in SoFi Stadium. Mikel Marino scored the go-ahead goal for Spain for the second consecutive match.

Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simón jumped to stop a potential cross in the 95th minute at the same time as Belgium's Romelo Lukaku, and the collision jostled the ball enough to knock it backward, rolling toward the Spanish goal ... until Pau Cubarsí sprinted in to kick it away from danger.

With Spain's goalkeeper out of position to make a save, Spanish defender Aymeric Laporte was the furthest man back to the goal in the 90th minute and kicked away a shot from Belgium that had a chance of leveling the score.

Oh, what a late back-breaker for Belgium, which allows a goal in the 87th minute, giving Spain a 2-1 lead.

Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who was brought out in the 74th minute to replace the injured Thibaut Courtois, stopped an initial shot by Pau Cubarsi. But Lammens couldn't control the save, as the ball bounced away from him toward Mikel Marino, who kicked in the go-ahead goal.

Immediately after Belgian star Kevin De Bruyne was given a yellow card for his NFL-style tackle from behind of Spain's Ferran Torres, Belgium substituted off De Bruyne, for what we can only speculate is to protect him from earning another yellow and risking a suspension for the semifinal, should Belgium win today.

Spain may be tied with Belgium but it has dominated the rest of play. Through 80 minutes, it has had the ball for 68% of the matchup, per ESPN, with more than double accurate passes compared to its opponent (514 to 207).

Spain also has 5 shots on goal compared to only 2 from Belgium.

As the teams left the hydration break in the 69th minute, Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois looked fine to resume play. He had been on the ground and gotten some medical attention a few minutes ago.

But then, Belgium substituted the Real Madrid keeper off in favor of Senne Lammens. Courtois must have been seriously unable to continue, because his goal-keeping had kept Belgium in this game, with five saves until his sub.

For Spain, Pedri and Ferran Torres came on for Fabian Ruiz and Álex Baena.

For Belgium, Axel Witsel, Joaquin Seys and Romelu Lukaku came on for Maxim De Cuyper, Leandro Trossard and Hans Vanaken.

A series of nifty passing left Spain chasing Belgium's offense in the 54th minute and it ended with Maxim De Cuyper taking a hard shot only about 12 yards out from the goal, but it was fired into the netting along the side of Spain's goal.

Much like in the first half, Lamine Yamal saw the ball bounce to him out of a scrum and tried to take advantage only to have the ball go just wide of the net. Yamal's shot in the 51st minute caught the foot of another player in the box, and that deflection was enough to send it a foot or so wide to the right.

Who will break this 1-1 tie? The winner gets France in the semifinals.

A thoroughly entertaining match has hit its halfway point. It's been quite a different type of match for Belgium, which only four days ago was dictating the play against the U.S. Today, the Red Devils have been forced to take a more defensive position while guarding against nine first-half attempts on goal by Spain. Belgium has only two attempts on goal, and it has been forced to make them count. Expect the same in the second half, as well.

It took until Spain's sixth match for it to finally allow its first goal of this tournament. In all, Spain had gone 694 minutes without conceding a goal.

We've hit the 45-minute mark but 5 minutes has been added before the midway break.

The Belgian striker has a real nose for the ball. This is now his third goal over the last two games, the two others coming against the United States in the round of 16.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder plays for Atalanta. His summer scoring is a bit surprising considering he only had three goals over 31 games in Serie A.

Charles De Ketelaere scores in the 40th minute to keep optimism for Belgium, which had been unable for long stretches to even hold onto possession of the ball, forced to constantly defend its goal. But here's the breakthrough, a header by De Ketelaere off a beautiful crossing assist from Timothy Castagne to make this match 1-1.

A pass was sent to Spain's Dani Olmo, and as he stepped in he collided with the referee trying to get out of the way.

Belgium's goalkeeper just blocked a rocket of a free kick by Lamine Yamal in the 34th minute. That was right on line for a second goal. Unlike a few minutes ago, Belgium didn't allow the deflection off the first save to be recovered by Spain.

Spain takes the lead in the 30th minute after Dani Olmo's first shot was deflected and bounced toward Fabian Ruiz, who buried the rebound opportunity into the net. It's a 1-0 edge to the Spaniards, whose control is finally rewarded with a goal.

You would have to go back to the European championships in 1980 for the last time that Belgium beat Spain, across all competitions. That is a winning streak of 11 matches over 46 years.

We're at the hydration break in the 23rd minute. The matchup has mostly been dominated by Spain, who has 56% possession and 3 total attempts on goal to 1 for Belgium. Spain also has completed 176 passes compared to only 103 from its opponent.

It's been a physical match so far with six fouls though no yellow or red cards.

The 18-year-old Spanish star had not been able to contribute much in the first 20 minutes other than committing a foul and keeping wide on the right side of the field. But in the 21st minute, Yamal pounced when a fight for control between two other players left the ball laying loose on the grass, and he sprinted over and fired a left-footed shot that, unfortunately for Spain's purposes, curved too far left around the far post.

Belgium has largely been quiet through 15 minutes but Doku — the Manchester City forward — has made his presence felt so far. He just dribbled up the left flank past defenders and crossed to the far right side to Charles De Ketelaere for a shot attempt that was blocked.

Belgium will need more of that if it wants to hang in this game.

In the 12th minute, Álex Baena was fed a pass right inside the 18-yard box but couldn't get off a clean shot to truly challenge Belgium. So far, it was one of only two opportunities that appeared like a potential breakthrough for Spain. Lamine Yamal has been held in check.

Belgium's football federation confirmed the injury. In his place, Belgium has started Hans Vanaken. Vanaken scored earlier this week in a victory against the U.S.

Spain and Belgium have begun here in SoFi Stadium, with Belgium already pushing the ball down toward Spain's goal.

Spain names its starters.

Belgium reveals its starters with a magazine-rack motif. Sublime.

One of these quarterfinalists is about to see their impressive unbeaten streak end today.

According to FIFA, which crunched the numbers, Spain hasn't lost in regular time in 35 matches, a streak that dates to March 22, 2024.

Belgium has gone undefeated since March 2025, a run of 18 straight.

The World Cup is down to the quarterfinals, so NBC’s chief data analyst Steve Kornacki joins "TODAY" to break down the matchups to watch among the final eight teams. He also analyzes the Golden Boot race between Lionel, Messi, Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

Steve Kornacki breaks down quarterfinals

04:19

The star Spanish forward has had a relatively quiet World Cup, which might be understandable. He's still just 18 years old. In five games, Yamal has scored one goal and recorded zero assists. He's taken 17 shots, including eight on goal.

For his club team, Barcelona, Yamal has scored 16 goals in 28 games playing in La Liga this season.

Spain has played five games at this World Cup, and it has yet to allow a goal. It's one of the crazier stats of the tournament. Its opponent today, Belgium, has scored 13 goals in five games for an average of 2.6 per game.

Will Belgium finally be able to solve Spain's tremendous defense? Here are the results from Spain's first five games:

1. Spain 0, Cape Verde 0
2. Spain 4, Saudi Arabia 0
3. Spain 1, Uruguay 0
4. Spain 3, Austria 0 (round of 32)
5. Spain 1, Portugal 0 (round of 16)

Of all the full-circle moments in sports history, this one might actually take the cake.

Argentinian soccer icon Lionel Messi was photographed in 2007 bathing an adorable, chubby baby as part of a charity calendar for his then-club FC Barcelona. Almost two decades later, Argentina is slated to move forward to the World Cup quarterfinals — and Messi might actually face off against that very child, Lamine Yamal, who grew up to be a superstar right winger for Spain.

Fans can’t get enough of the now-legendary throwback photo, with some saying that the baby bath was Messi’s “sacred” way of passing along his exceptional soccer prowess. Even comedian Trevor Noah has geeked out over the image.

“It’s crazy that it’s real. Imagine this moment,” Noah recently said during his World Cup Watch Party. “These people are both playing in the same World Cup right now. And this baby boy is one of the most talented players.”

Belgium is the third-highest scorer at this World Cup and is coming up against the tournament’s meanest defense. Spain’s goalkeeper Unai Simón hasn’t conceded in 519 consecutive minutes across the past two World Cups. La Roja has beaten Belgium in their past five meetings, conceding only once.

Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku has become the first player in World Cup history to score as a substitute in four matches — his last coming in the 4-1 thumping over the United States in the round of 16.

Expect Spain, to have much of the ball. With a midfield of Rodri, Pedri and Dani Olmo, it’s not surprising that Spain leads the tournament’s possession stats. Unsettling that trio will be the key to Belgium’s chances of success.

Up top, Spain’s unshowy striker Mikel Oyarzabal doesn’t attract the headlines like his rivals in the race for the Golden Boot, but he is effective and has already scored four goals at this tournament.

Drew Dinsick offers advice on how to bet on Spain and Belgium's match, and highlights an impressive Spanish defense that has yet to concede.

Belgium are embracing their underdog status ahead of today's quarterfinal against Spain, with coach Rudi Garcia confident they have the attacking quality and belief to upset the European champions.

Spain entered the tournament as one of the favourites and after a slow start found their swagger with a 3-0 win over Austria in the round of 32.

While Spain coach Luis de la Fuente struck a philosophical tone in his own pre-match media conference, quoting Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, Garcia leaned instead on analytics and squad management.

“We know we are playing one of the favorites. Spain are probably the best at ball possession and they have been playing in a recognizable way for 15 or 20 years,” he said.