Overview
- Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals after a 2-1 quarterfinal win over Belgium at SoFi Stadium, with Fabián Ruiz opening the scoring and Mikel Merino netting the winner from a rebound.
- Charles De Ketelaere had leveled for Belgium before halftime and Spain’s tournament clean-sheet streak was broken in this match.
- Belgium lost goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to quadriceps pain in the second half and replaced him with Senne Lammens, whose rebound the Merino converted late in the game.
- The match took place on Friday and followed Spain’s preparations in Los Angeles, where Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsí and Nico Williams were declared fit to rejoin the squad.
- Spain will meet France in the first semifinal at AT&T Stadium in Dallas on July 14, a matchup that pits two of the tournament’s leading sides against each other and will determine one finalist.