Spain booked their place in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals after substitute Mikel Merino scored a late winner in a 2-1 victory over Belgium on Friday. Russia-Ukraine war Russian missile and drone attacks kill two as Kyiv urges faster air defence support The victory sets up a semi-final against France in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday. France are chasing a third consecutive appearance in the World Cup final after lifting the trophy in 2018. Merino once again made a decisive impact from the bench. Introduced in the 86th minute, he scored the winner two minutes later after goalkeeper Senne Lammens spilled Pau Cubarsi’s shot. The midfielder had also scored the stoppage-time winner against Portugal in the Round of 16 earlier this week. Spain reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since winning the tournament in 2010. Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced four saves before leaving the field with an apparent leg injury in the 71st minute. Lammens replaced him for the closing stages. Spain survived a late scare deep into stoppage time when defender Aymeric Laporte cleared the ball off the goal line to protect the lead. La Roja had not conceded a goal in the tournament before Friday’s match. However, Belgium levelled before half-time after Spain had taken an early lead. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the 30th minute by converting the rebound after Dani Olmo’s effort forced a save from Courtois. Belgium equalised in the 41st minute when Charles De Ketelaere headed home from Timothy Castagne’s cross. The goal ended goalkeeper Unai Simon’s World Cup streak of 650 minutes without conceding, dating back to the 2022 tournament. Lamine Yamal came close to scoring several times but failed to find the target. Courtois also denied Mikel Oyarzabal during an entertaining second half. Belgium captain Youri Tielemans missed the match after suffering an injury during the warm-up. Hans Vanaken replaced him in the starting line-up. Spain extended their unbeaten run to a national-record 36 matches, while Belgium’s 18-match unbeaten streak came to an end. Post navigation England Three Lions face Haaland-inspired Norway in World Cup quarter-final
