Spain 2-1 Belgium: Merino's Late Winner Books Semis

Spain needed a substitute and 88 minutes to get past Belgium, and the substitute was the same one who keeps rescuing them. Mikel Merino had been on the pitch for two minutes when he bundled in the winner at SoFi Stadium, settling a 2-1 quarter-final that Belgium had clawed back to level and sending a Spain side built on control a step closer to the final.

What happened in Spain 2-1 Belgium?

Spain started on top and got their reward on 30 minutes, Fabián Ruiz forcing home a rebound on his first start since the opener, in for the rested Pedri. It should have settled them. Instead Belgium hit back inside 11 minutes, Charles De Ketelaere curling in his third goal of the finals. That one mattered beyond the scoreline: it was the first goal Luis de la Fuente’s side had conceded all tournament.

Level at 1-1 with two minutes left, the tie was drifting toward extra time. The coin-flip our last-eight guide warned about looked like going the distance. Then de la Fuente sent Merino on.

How did Merino win it again?

He needed one chance. Pau Cubarsí drove a long shot that Belgium’s backup keeper Senne Lammens could only parry, and Merino was quickest to the loose ball, stabbing it in on his second touch of the game. No clever move, no build-up worth replaying — just a striker’s reaction from a man who is not a striker.

It was the second knockout round running that he has decided, after his winner against Portugal in the Round of 16. A central midfielder is doing the work of a super-sub, and he has now won two of Spain’s biggest games from the bench. Not many teams left in the tournament have that to reach for.

Why did Belgium’s night unravel?

Their problems started before kick-off. Captain Youri Tielemans pulled up in the warm-up and never played, and in the second half they lost first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to injury, the change that put Lammens in goal for Merino’s winner. A Belgium squad few had backed to reach the last eight went out on two blows it could do nothing about.

That should not take much away from the performance. Domenico Tedesco’s side went with Spain for long spells and, through De Ketelaere, became the only team to score against them at these finals. They ran out of goalkeepers before they ran out of ideas.

What did De Ketelaere’s goal really mean?

Spain had not conceded once from the group stage through the Round of 16, and that clean sheet run was a big part of why they were fancied to win the whole thing. De Ketelaere ended it at the worst possible moment. France, who get Spain next, will have watched a defence that had looked impregnable finally give one up. Everyone now knows this Spain team can be scored against.

Who do Spain play next at World Cup 2026?

France, in Dallas on July 14. It is the tie the bracket had been pointing toward, an all-European semi-final between two of the sides most people picked to win it, set up when France beat Morocco on the other side of the draw. The odds still lean toward Les Bleus as the tournament favourites, and Spain have hardly been convincing. But they keep finding a way, and Merino keeps scoring late, which is a hard habit to plan against. For the full bracket, see our quarter-finals explained.