Spain's national team secured its seat in the semi-final round of the 2026 World Cup, after achieving a deadly victory over its Belgian counterpart.
The Spanish national team defeated Belgium 2-1, in the match that brought them together on Friday evening within the quarter-final competitions.
Details of the Spain and Belgium match
The Spanish national team imposed its superiority in most periods of the match, but it needed a late goal to settle the qualification ticket, setting up a fiery date with the French national team in the semi-final, after the "Roosters" qualified at the expense of Morocco.
The Spanish national team opened the scoring in the 30th minute through Fabian Ruiz, who took advantage of a rebounding ball inside the penalty area and shot it powerfully into the net, giving "La Roja" the lead.
The Belgian national team succeeded in returning to the match before the end of the first half, after Charles De Ketelaere rose to a precise cross from Timothy Castagne and headed it into the net in the 41st minute, ending the first half with a 1-1 draw.
In the second half, the two teams exchanged attempts in search of the winning goal, amid defensive brilliance from both sides, before the decisive moment came in the 88th minute, when Mikel Merino took advantage of a rebounding ball inside the penalty area and shot it directly into the net, scoring the winning and qualifying goal for Spain.
With this victory, the Spanish national team continues its distinguished path in the 2026 World Cup, reaching the semi-final round, where it will face the French national team in an anticipated European summit to secure a ticket to the final match.
Spain's lineup
Goalkeeper: Unai Simón.
Defense line: Pedro Porro - Pau Cubarsí - Aymeric Laporte - Marc Cucurella.
Midfield line: Rodri - Fabian Ruiz - Álex Baena.
Attack line: Dani Olmo - Mikel Oyarzabal - Lamine Yamal.
Belgium's lineup
Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois.
Defense line: Timothy Castagne - Brandon Mechele - Nathan Ngoy - Maxim De Cuyper.
Midfield line: Nicolas Raskin - Kevin De Bruyne - Youri Tielemans (replaced before the start of the match by his teammate Hans Vanaken).
Attack line: Jérémy Doku - Charles De Ketelaere - Leandro Trossard.
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