James Hilsum,
50 min ago
Spain celebrate Mikel Merino's late winner
Spain celebrate Mikel Merino's late winner
Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
Mikel Merino’s late strike sent Spain into the 2026 FIFA World Cup (WC) semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Belgium, extending their H2H winning streak to six games and setting up a tantalising clash with France.
Luis de la Fuente’s men had arguably gone under the radar en route to a first WC quarter-final since lifting the trophy in 2010, and faced a Red Devils team buoyed by eliminating co-hosts USA in the previous round.
La Roja - ranked second in the world - represented a big step up in opposition, and it was therefore unsurprising that the Iberians were the ones forcing the issue early in the game. Rodri’s shot was blocked by Nathan Ngoy, before Lamine Yamal sent a curling effort wide.
Belgium were containing Spain relatively well, but still fell a goal behind on the half-hour mark courtesy of Fabian Ruiz’s first-ever WC strike. Pedro Porro’s cross picked out Dani Olmo, whose initial shot was saved by Thibaut Courtois before the Paris Saint-Germain midfielder fired home on the rebound.
Spain's Fabian Ruiz celebrates scoring their first goal
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