In an outcome that felt inevitable for most of the game, Spain beat Belgium 2-1 with a late goal from a familiar face Friday.
Mikel Merino, the matchwinner in the round of 16 against Portugal, pounced on a spilled save by Belgium backup Senne Lammens to finish into the roof of the net at Los Angeles Stadium and send Spain into the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup for only the second time.
– Injured Courtois exits in tears before Spain winner
With the win, Spain also extended their own unbeaten run to a new team record of 36 games — one short of Italy’s all-time record of 37 — to set up a juicy semifinal matchup with France on Tuesday.
“It will be a clash of giants,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said through a translator.
Merino came on in the 86th minute and scored on his second touch of the match, having also gotten the winning goal as a substitute against Portugal.
“I’ve done this again, and it’s happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists,” a smiling Merino said. “If you’re ready and you try, it can happen for you. I’m very, very pleased.”
Lammens was only in the game because Belgium No. 1 Thibaut Courtois was substituted with an apparent injury in the 71st minute and the Manchester United stopper should have done better in saving Pau Cubarsi’s long-distance shot, which he could only spill into the path of an onrushing Merino.
De la Fuente had made one big change to his starting lineup against Belgium, with Fabián Ruiz getting the nod over Pedri. And the move paid off just after the first-half hydration break when Ruiz pounced on a rebound to give Spain the lead.
“We know what these players will give us when we put them in,” De la Fuente said after the game. “Pedri and Fabian are some of the best players in the world. We take these decisions and we have to consider the rival and we have to contemplate where the player will fit in, always.
“We have chosen the best players and people in the world and they get along great together. They are perfect in the national squad and they are great in their clubs and they understand it’s not a lack of respect for their skills or the like and we should not be surprised that they are OK with their role whatever it is. No pouting.”
The goal came after some nice buildup down the right flank as Lamine Yamal played Pedro Porro in, and he crossed to Dani Olmo, whose shot was saved by Courtois but fell right to Ruiz for an easy tap in.
Barcelona star Yamal was making his sixth appearance of the tournament on Friday, the most ever by a player age 18 or under at a World Cup.
Despite Spain’s dominance for most of the first half, Belgium drew level shortly before the break when Timothy Castagne fired in a perfect cross for Charles De Ketelaere to beat Unai Simón with a glancing header.
Belgium’s goal was the first that Spain and goalkeeper Simon had conceded this summer and brought an end to a record 650-minute scoreless streak at the World Cup that stretched back to 2022, when Ao Tanaka scored against them in the group stage in Qatar.
Spain continued to have more of the ball to start the second half, but Belgium also looked dangerous in spurts, with Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne combining with some clever interplay and almost setting up a go-ahead goal.
But Belgium took a big hit in the 71st minute when Courtois was withdrawn after being slow to get up following a clearance. He walked to the sidelines after receiving treatment on the field and looked set to continue only to be replaced by Lammens minutes later.
After the game, Belgium coach Rudi Garcia confirmed Courtois had a muscle injury and, although he wanted to continue, was not 100 percent and had to be substituted.
“It’s part and parcel of high-level sport. You need to be concentrated and able to perform for these types of games,” Garcia said. “From the beginning of the World Cup, I didn’t want players on the pitch who were not 100 percent and that was Courtois today.
“He was excellent throughout the World Cup, but we didn’t want his injury to get worse and that is why we took him off.”
It wasn’t first injury hit for Belgium, who had captain Youri Tielemans scratched from the lineup before kickoff because of an injury in warmups.
Tielemans had been a key player for Belgium in their run to the quarterfinals, featuring in every match during the group stage and scoring twice in a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Senegal in the round of 32.
“It’s a shame, because I thought everyone deserved to go far,” Garcia added. “We were close to extra time. In the first half it was a closed off game, very tactical. I thought we could have edged it in the 60th minute, but it didn’t happen.
“I am not here to rewrite history.”—BBC
Information from The Associated Press and ESPN Global Research was used in this report.
