Spain Advances to FIFA World Cup 2026 Semifinals with Dramatic Win Over Belgium
Spain's Thrilling Victory Secures Semifinal Spot
Madrid, Spain - On July 11, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez expressed his congratulations to the national football team after La Roja clinched a spot in the semifinals of the FIFA World Cup 2026, triumphing over Belgium with a nail-biting 2-1 scoreline in the quarterfinal match.
Following the intense match, Sanchez shared his excitement on X, stating, "Continuing to dream together. Come on, Spain!"
https://x.com/sanchezcastejon/status/2075689086644293996?s=20
In the match, Fabian Ruiz, who was unexpectedly chosen to start over Pedri, and substitute Mikel Merino both scored for Spain, while Belgium's Charles De Ketelaere managed to find the back of the net. The game also saw Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois exit due to injury.
Ruiz opened the scoring after Courtois deflected a shot from Dani Olmo, allowing Ruiz to capitalize. Spain maintained pressure with Lamine Yamal, whose energetic performance earned him the Player of the Match accolade.
Belgium equalized just before halftime when Kevin De Bruyne set up Timothy Castagne, whose precise cross was expertly headed in by De Ketelaere, keeping him onside.
This goal marked the end of Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon's impressive 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 for Belgium, Lammens was soon beaten when he failed to secure a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsi, allowing Merino, who had just entered the match, to score the decisive goal.
This victory extended Spain's unbeaten streak to 36 matches since their last loss to Colombia, matching Argentina's unbeaten run from 2019 to 2022 and leaving them just one match shy of Italy's world-record 37-match unbeaten streak.
Spain is now set to face France in a highly anticipated semifinal as they pursue another FIFA World Cup title.