No wonder Spain boss Luis de la Fuente can't resist keeping Mikel Merino on the bench. It's now two World Cup knockout games deadlocked, two World Cup knockout games won by the left boot of the ****** nal midfielder. On Monday, it was against Portugal in Dallas; here in the Californian sunshine, he was quickest following in, anticipating an error from the Belgian goalkeeper. Slamming the ball into the roof of the net two minutes from time, he sends his country into a tantalising semi-final showdown with fellow European heavyweights France on Tuesday.
Only, it wasn't meant to be this way for this valiant Belgian team. The cruel turn of the tide came 20 minutes from the end when Thibaut Courtois, one of the world's greatest goalkeepers, trudged off inconsolable after sustaining a thigh injury. A very capable No 2 in Man Utd's Senne Lammens took his place but it was his error, his inability to hold on to Pau Cubarsi's long-range effort, his incomprehensible spill of the football into Merino's path, which will be the lasting image of their World Cup campaign.
And so European champions Spain march on. It was far from convincing and Belgium will rue a few half-decent openings in the second-half. But nearly 16 years to the day since the 2010 generation prevailed on the world stage in South Africa, this 2026 squad took another step closer to their nation's second triumph. It will now be Kylian Mbappe and the irresistible French attack in four days' time in the air-conditioned Dallas Stadium. Some match, that.
Spain's incredible run now stands at 36 consecutive matches unbeaten in competitive encounters. While their clean-sheet record, standing at 650 World Cup minutes without conceding, came a cropper here, the underlying goal of the summer did not sway off course. And as they took the applause of the 70,000-strong crowd in Los Angeles, dominated by Spain supporters, they will be satisfied with their progression, even if their status was precarious for a period here.
These two had not played for a decade, while Spain were unbeaten in 11 games against their European opponents, dating back to a World Cup quarter-final shootout defeat 40 years ago in Puebla City, Mexico. In similarly sweltering conditions in Inglewood, with this match kicking off at midday, could an underdog story repeat itself here?
Only, it wasn't meant to be this way for this valiant Belgian team. The cruel turn of the tide came 20 minutes from the end when Thibaut Courtois, one of the world's greatest goalkeepers, trudged off inconsolable after sustaining a thigh injury. A very capable No 2 in Man Utd's Senne Lammens took his place but it was his error, his inability to hold on to Pau Cubarsi's long-range effort, his incomprehensible spill of the football into Merino's path, which will be the lasting image of their World Cup campaign.
And so European champions Spain march on. It was far from convincing and Belgium will rue a few half-decent openings in the second-half. But nearly 16 years to the day since the 2010 generation prevailed on the world stage in South Africa, this 2026 squad took another step closer to their nation's second triumph. It will now be Kylian Mbappe and the irresistible French attack in four days' time in the air-conditioned Dallas Stadium. Some match, that.
Spain's incredible run now stands at 36 consecutive matches unbeaten in competitive encounters. While their clean-sheet record, standing at 650 World Cup minutes without conceding, came a cropper here, the underlying goal of the summer did not sway off course. And as they took the applause of the 70,000-strong crowd in Los Angeles, dominated by Spain supporters, they will be satisfied with their progression, even if their status was precarious for a period here.
These two had not played for a decade, while Spain were unbeaten in 11 games against their European opponents, dating back to a World Cup quarter-final shootout defeat 40 years ago in Puebla City, Mexico. In similarly sweltering conditions in Inglewood, with this match kicking off at midday, could an underdog story repeat itself here?
19 days ago
