Spain eliminates Belgium, sets up date with France in World Cup semifinals

Spain reached the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a late 2-1 victory over Belgium on Friday in Los Angeles.

At the magnificent SoFi Stadium in front of 70,000 spectators, European champions Spain got goals from Fabian Ruiz (30') and substitute Mikel Merino (88'), while Belgium's goal was scored by Charles De Ketelaere (41'). They set up a fiery semifinal clash with France, who defeated Morocco 2-0 on Tuesday in Dallas.

This is Spain's first semifinal appearance since the 2010 edition, when they won the only World Cup title in their history.

The quarterfinal round concludes on Saturday with matches between England and Norway in Miami, and defending champions Argentina against Switzerland in Kansas. Spain had waited until the final moments to eliminate neighbor Portugal in the Round of 16, with Merino coming off the bench to score the only goal of the match in second-half stoppage time.

He repeated the feat again when he scored the winner just two minutes after coming on.

Earlier, Spain topped their group with a draw against Cape Verde (0-0) and wins over Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0), before easily beating Austria 3-0 in the Round of 32.

Belgium, meanwhile, produced their best performance in the Round of 16, crushing co-host United States 4-1 in Seattle.

Before that, the team coached by Frenchman Rudi Garcia drew with Egypt 1-1 in the opener, then with Iran 0-0, before securing qualification with a big 5-1 win over New Zealand.

In the Round of 32, they staged one of the best comebacks in tournament history, trailing Senegal 2-0 until the 86th minute before turning the tables to win 3-2 after extra time.