Mikel Merino scored late after Senne Lammens spilled a shot from Pau Cubarsi, and Spain beat Belgium to reach the World Cup semi-final against France. The finish ended a frantic night that had swung from injury, to equalizer, to a final mistake that Belgium could not recover from.
The result mattered now because Spain are one step from the final, and the next match is set for Tuesday in Arlington. Belgium had already lost Youri Tielemans to injury in the warm-up, then saw Thibaut Courtois leave injured and in tears at 71 minutes before Lammens came on and was beaten 17 minutes later.
Fabian Ruiz had put Spain ahead on 30 minutes with a rebound, but Belgium answered through Charles De Ketelaere's header and briefly looked capable of forcing more pressure. Their best appeal came when the ball struck Rodri's arm in the box, yet Michael Oliver and VAR did not award a penalty, and the chance passed with the score still alive.
Spain had kept five successive clean sheets before conceding, which tells part of the story of how hard Belgium made this. Belgium had also arrived having beaten USMNT 4-1 to reach the quarter-finals, and for a stretch they looked ready to turn another match with one decisive moment. Instead, the game tilted back to Spain, who had enough depth and composure to survive the wobble.
Courtois's exit left the biggest unanswered question in the match, because Spain had already heard Luis de la Fuente describe him before kickoff as one of the world's top five goalkeepers. There was no diagnosis and no timetable by full-time, only the sight of Belgium's senior keeper walking off in tears and his replacement soon beaten. Spain move on with the sharper edge and the better result, and France now waits in a meeting that should decide whether this run goes all the way to the final.
