Spain 2-1 Belgium — Merino's 88th-Minute Winner Sets France Semi
- Jul 11
- 4 min read
Mikel Merino needed less than two minutes on the pitch to send Spain into the World Cup semifinals. The substitute pounced on a spilled rebound in the 88th minute on Friday night, lifting La Roja to a 2-1 quarterfinal victory over Belgium and setting up a heavyweight semifinal showdown with France in Dallas on Tuesday.
For 87 minutes, Belgium had done nearly everything required to drag one of the tournament favorites to the brink. Then Spain's bench delivered. Merino, introduced late as Luis de la Fuente searched for fresh legs, arrived at the edge of the six-yard box just as Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens parried a stinging effort from Pau Cubarsi into traffic. The Arsenal midfielder turned the loose ball home, one minute and 57 seconds after stepping onto the field.
The goal broke Belgian hearts and capped a night that had swung back and forth from the opening whistle. Spain struck first in the 30th minute, when Fabian Ruiz followed up his own initial effort after Thibaut Courtois could not control the rebound, sweeping the ball into the net to continue his outstanding tournament.
Belgium answered before halftime, and the goal carried historical weight. Charles De Ketelaere ghosted into the box in the 41st minute and finished coolly, becoming the first player to score against Spain in the entire 2026 World Cup. La Roja had rolled through the group stage and knockout rounds without conceding, and the equalizer briefly cracked their aura of invincibility.
The second half became a chess match. Spain dominated possession in their familiar patient style, probing for gaps in a Belgian block that defended with discipline and broke forward with menace. Courtois's night ended prematurely, and backup Senne Lammens stepped into goal for the closing stages — a change that would prove decisive in the cruelest way.
Lammens could hardly be faulted for effort. The young goalkeeper produced several strong stops as Spain turned the screw, but Cubarsi's late drive was hit with enough venom that he could only push it into the danger area. Merino, sniffing the moment like a poacher, made Belgium pay the full price.
For Belgium, the defeat extends a generation of near-misses on the biggest stage. The golden era of Kevin De Bruyne and company never lifted the trophy, and this retooled squad — built around De Ketelaere, Jeremy Doku and a new wave of talent — came within minutes of a semifinal before falling to the tournament's most complete team.
For Spain, the win keeps a dream season alive. The European champions have now added a fourth straight knockout victory to their unbeaten tournament, and they have done it with contributions from every corner of the squad: teenagers like Cubarsi driving play from the back, veterans like Ruiz scoring in big moments, and substitutes like Merino changing games in an instant.
Merino's flair for the dramatic is becoming a signature. The midfielder scored the extra-time winner against Germany in the Euro 2024 quarterfinals, and his latest late strike adds another chapter to a career defined by decisive goals in knockout football. In a team of artists, he has become the closer.
Up next is a semifinal that could easily have been a final. France, who dispatched Morocco 2-0 behind Kylian Mbappe to book their place, meet Spain in Dallas on Tuesday with a spot in the World Cup final on the line. It is a rematch of the Euro 2024 semifinal, which Spain won 2-1 in one of the great matches of that tournament.
The tactical battle promises to be fascinating. Spain's suffocating possession game against France's devastating transition play is the classic clash of styles, and both squads are deeper than they were two years ago. Mbappe against Spain's young back line may decide it; so may whichever coach wins the substitution battle — an area where de la Fuente just delivered a masterclass.
Friday's win also underlined the value of Spain's squad depth at a tournament this long. Six games in, with heat, travel and accumulated minutes taking their toll across North America, matches are increasingly decided by the last 30 minutes. No team has gotten more from its bench than Spain, and no moment proved it better than Merino's.
The Spain-France semifinal kicks off Tuesday in Dallas, with the winner advancing to the World Cup final on July 19. On current form, whoever survives will start that final as the favorite — but as Belgium nearly proved, this World Cup has no respect for reputations.
There were individual storylines everywhere on Friday night. Ruiz's goal continued one of the finest tournaments of his career, the 30-year-old dictating tempo from midfield the way he did during Spain's Euro 2024 run. Cubarsi, still a teenager, played with the composure of a veteran and created the winning goal with his late surge and strike. And De Ketelaere's equalizer, though ultimately in vain, announced him as the face of Belgium's next chapter.
The result also carried weight for American soccer fans watching the tournament unfold on home soil. With the hosts eliminated in the round of 16, the neutral crowds have adopted the tournament's entertainers, and Spain has been the most-watched team of the knockout rounds. Tuesday's semifinal in Dallas is expected to be among the most in-demand tickets of the entire World Cup, with a television audience to match.
For The 662's soccer readers, the road ahead is now clear: Spain vs. France on Tuesday, the second semifinal on Wednesday, and the final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, July 19. Four teams remain, but after Friday's escape act, it is getting harder to bet against La Roja.
Comments