The ongoing FIFA World Cup being hosted by Mexico, Canada and the United States witnessed a captivating match when Spain squared up against Belgium in a quarter final match in Los Angeles Stadium in the United States.
From the first whistle, Spain dominated proceedings with relentless attacks and this pressure paid off after 29 minutes, 29 seconds when the La Roja broke the deadlock. Spanish midfielder, Dani Olmo, had fired an innocuous shot which Thibaut Courtois parried, only for Fabian Ruiz to finish it off to give his side a deserved lead.
The game continued Spain’s way until few minutes to the end of the first half when Charles Ketelaere headed home a fine cross from Timothy Castagne. After the equalizer, Belgium gained momentum and pushed the game more on the Spaniards but couldn’t dismantle the outstanding Spanish defence.
At the start of the second half, the match was evenly balanced with a lot of attacking football from both sides. Jeremy Doku was electrifying in attack for Belgium, but he was at times, guilty of over-keeping the ball when it was time to release it to Kevin De Bruyne to force a meaningful attack.
As the game wore down, Thibaut Courtois suffered a thigh injury which Belgium dearly paid for in the closing stages of the match. Courtois’ replacement, Senne Lammens of Manchester United, spilled a long range effort from Spanish midfielder Cubarsi which Mikel Merino stabbed into the net at close range to win the match for Spain at 2:1.
The win pitches Spain Vs France in a semi-final match that promises to be full of fireworks in Dallas on Tuesday, July 14, 2026.