Spain has made it to the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 by defeating Belgium 2-1. Mikel Merino performed brilliantly for the second consecutive match and scored the decisive goal in his second minute after coming on the field. Merino came on the field in the 86th minute and took advantage of a mistake by Belgium’s backup goalkeeper Sené Lammens to score a goal in the 88th minute. He entered the box and scored when the Belgian goalkeeper was unable to stop the rebound of Pau Coubertin’s long shot.
Merino came on as a substitute for the second consecutive match and scored the decisive goal. He scored just four minutes after coming on as a substitute early in injury time in Spain’s 1–0 win over Portugal in the last match. Merino has scored two goals in his first World Cup and both of them are historic. Spain will face tournament favorites France in the semi-finals.
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First goal against Spain in the tournament
Belgium tried hard to score an equalizer in the final minutes but Aymeric Laporte fired wide at the best opportunity. Fabian Ruiz scored for Spain in the 30th minute. Belgian forward Charles de Ketelere scored the equalizing goal in the 41st minute. This was the first goal of the tournament against Spain. In this way, its goalkeeper Unai Simon’s record of not conceding a goal, which started from the last World Cup, stopped at 650 minutes.
Spain has remained unbeaten in 37 consecutive matches since March 2023. He has reached the semi-finals of the World Cup for the first time after winning the title in 2010. Belgium’s 18-match unbeaten streak in all competitions has ended. There is likely to be an exciting match between Spain and France in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday. Neither of the two teams has lost in this year’s World Cup.
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Courtois left the field crying
Belgium’s longtime goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left the field with a thigh injury, forcing Lammens to come on in the 71st minute. Courtois made four saves, but collapsed on the field after a long kick in the second half. He was given treatment on the field but when coach Rudy Garcia called him back shortly after, he could not control his tears.
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