Belgian Royal Palace Celebrates National Team's Journey Despite World Cup Exit
Belgium's World Cup Journey Acknowledged
The Belgian Royal Palace expressed admiration for the national football team following their exit from the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarterfinals against Spain. The Palace emphasized that the players should take pride in their accomplishments and hinted at a promising future ahead.
Belgium's campaign concluded with a 2-1 loss to Spain in the quarterfinal match.
In a message shared on X, the official account of the Belgian Royal Palace conveyed support for the team after their defeat, stating, "It wasn’t meant to be, but you fought until the end. We are incredibly proud of your magnificent journey, @BelRedDevils! The future belongs to you!"
During the match, Spain's Fabian Ruiz, who was unexpectedly given a starting position over Pedri, scored the opening goal. Substitute Mikel Merino also found the net for Spain, while Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere managed to score.
Ruiz capitalized on a rebound after Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois deflected Dani Olmo's shot. Spain's Lamine Yamal, who had an impressive performance, was awarded Player of the Match.
Belgium equalized just before halftime when Kevin De Bruyne set up Timothy Castagne, whose accurate cross was headed in by De Ketelaere, who timed his run perfectly to remain onside.
This goal ended Spain's goalkeeper Unai Simon's remarkable streak of 560 consecutive World Cup minutes without conceding, breaking the previous record of 517 minutes held by Italy's Walter Zenga since 1990.
Belgium faced a significant challenge in the 71st minute when Courtois had to leave the field due to injury, replaced by Senne Lammens. Unfortunately, Lammens was soon beaten by Merino, who scored the decisive goal after Lammens failed to secure a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsi.
With this victory, Spain extended their unbeaten streak to 36 matches, matching Argentina's record from 2019 to 2022 and falling just one game short of Italy's world-record 37-match unbeaten run.
Spain is set to face France in the upcoming semifinal as they pursue another FIFA World Cup title.