Mikel Merino was once again the hero of Spain. The Arsenal player came on in the 86th minute and, two minutes later, took advantage of a rebound from goalkeeper Senne Lammens to score the final 2-1 win over Belgium in the World Cup quarterfinals.
“I still don’t believe it. Doing it once… I thought I wasn’t going to play for a long time and it happens again,” said Merino, who had already scored the winning goal against Portugal in the round of 16.
A high-tension duel
Spain opened the scoring in the 30th minute: Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro combined from the right, Dani Olmo shot, Thibaut Courtois rejected and Fabián Ruiz took advantage of the rebound for his first goal in the tournament.
Belgium responded in the 41st minute. Charles De Ketelaere physically imposed himself on Pau Cubarsí and headed in a cross from Timothy Castagne. That goal broke goalkeeper Unai Simón’s goalless streak of 650 minutes, a World Cup record.
Courtois was injured in the 71st minute and his replacement Lammens could not avoid defeat. Mikel Merino, again from the bench, decided the game.
Heading to the semi-finals against France
Spain will face France next Tuesday in Dallas. It is the first time that La Roja has reached the semifinals since winning the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
“A one-on-one match with France. In the semifinals you couldn’t expect anything else,” Merino said.
Coach Luis de la Fuente explained Pedri’s surprising absence from the eleven: “We needed Fabián’s freshness, and then Pedri could benefit.”
Belgium tried to equalize in stoppage time with Romelu Lukaku, but Aymeric Laporte cleared from a bicycle kick. “We knew how to hurt them,” Belgian defender Brandon Mechele said. “We are proud of the tournament we have given.”
Spain remains undefeated since March 2023. Now, France will be the toughest test.
