Spain have reached the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Luis de la Fuente’s side secured a hard-fought 2–1 victory over Belgium in an intense quarter-final and will now face France. La Roja also conceded their first goal of the tournament, bringing their remarkable run of 649 World Cup minutes without conceding to an end.
Spain Expat Press Editorial Team
by Marlon Gallego Bosbach
From the opening whistle at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, the match developed into an intense contest. Spain controlled proceedings for long spells and, as expected, enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, but Belgium remained well organised defensively and offered very few openings. After exactly half an hour, however, La Roja finally found the breakthrough. Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro combined brilliantly down the right before Dani Olmo’s effort was superbly saved by Thibaut Courtois. The rebound fell kindly to Fabián Ruiz, and the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder made no mistake, calmly converting from close range to give Spain a deserved lead.
Belgium, however, had the perfect response just before the interval. In the 41st minute, a cross from the right found the head of Charles De Ketelaere, who guided his close-range effort beyond Unai Simón and into the bottom-left corner. With their very first clear-cut chance of the match, the Red Devils levelled the score completely against the run of play and, in the process, handed Spain their first goal conceded of the tournament. It also brought an end to La Roja’s remarkable World Cup record of 649 consecutive minutes without conceding.
After the break, Spain remained true to their philosophy, dominating possession and steadily increasing the pressure on Belgium. Despite their control, clear-cut chances continued to be few and far between, setting up a tense finale. The Red Devils were then dealt a major blow when first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced off with a thigh injury. Clearly emotional, the Belgian captain left the pitch in tears and was replaced by Senne Lammens in the 71st minute – a change that ultimately proved decisive. With just two minutes of normal time remaining, substitute goalkeeper Lammens could only parry Pau Cubarsí’s powerful effort from distance into a dangerous area. Mikel Merino, who had himself only recently come off the bench, reacted quickest to the loose ball and calmly slotted home from close range in the 88th minute to seal Spain’s dramatic 2–1 victory.
In the closing stages, the reigning European champions managed the game expertly, keeping Belgium well away from their own goal and seeing out the remaining minutes without any real scares. Spain ultimately secured a hard-fought but thoroughly deserved 2–1 victory, booking their place in the last four of the World Cup.
With the victory, Spain have also ended a long wait for a World Cup quarter-final breakthrough and reached the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since lifting the trophy in 2010. Standing in their way now are France, one of the pre-tournament favourites and a side that has impressed throughout the competition. It promises to be a true heavyweight clash between two of the tournament’s most convincing teams – and also a showdown between two global superstars: France’s Kylian Mbappé and Spain’s Lamine Yamal.
Although Spain’s impressive run without conceding has now come to an end, the performance once again highlighted the quality within Luis de la Fuente’s side. For the first time at this World Cup, La Roja had to deal with a setback – and they showed exactly the mentality that could prove crucial in their pursuit of the title.
