Spain will face France in a mouth-watering World Cup semi-final after Mikel Merino's late goal saw La Roja eliminate Belgium in Los Angeles.
Merino was the hero against Portugal four days ago and the midfielder was only on the pitch for 117 seconds when he showcased his poaching qualities to capitalise on a Senne Lammens error and lead his country into the last four of the World Cup for only the second time in their history.
Spain opened the scoring with a finely worked goal as Pedro Porro played a neat one-two with Lamine Yamal which enabled the right-back to advance, and his pull-back was struck first time by Dani Olmo. Thibaut Courtois saved the first effort, but up popped Fabian Ruiz to dispatch the rebound.
It was going to require a moment of magic for Belgium to breach a La Roja rearguard that hadn't conceded in 600 minutes of World Cup action and fortunately they had Kevin De Bruyne in their ranks.
The Red Devils playmaker delivered a sumptuous cross into the path of Charles De Ketelaere, who got in front of his market to nod beyond Unai Simon and score his third in two matches following his brace against the United States.
Clear-cut chances were at a premium in the second period, evidenced by only 0.41 xG being generated between the two teams by the 85th minute. Belgium's defensive discipline stifled a probing Spain attack that lacked invention.
But like in the previous round against Portugal, with the match on the verge of extra-time, up stepped the super sub Merino.
Lammens, who was introduced as a substitute after Thibaut Courtois was withdrawn due to injury, spilled Pau Cubarsi's long-range effort and Merino was alert to pounce on the rebound to secure Spain's progression for a second successive fixture.
Take a look at our player ratings and match stats below.
Spain Player Ratings
- Unai Simon - 6
- Pedro Porro - 7
- Pau Cubarsi - 8
- Aymeric Laporte - 7
- Marc Cucurella - 7
- Rodri - 7
- Fabian Ruiz - 7
- Dani Olmo - 7
- Lamine Yamal - 7
- Alex Baena - 6
- Mikel Oyarzabal - 5
Substitutes:
- Ferran Torres - 6
- Pedri - 7
- Nico Williams - 6
- Mikel Merino - 7
Belgium Player Ratings
- Thibaut Courtois - 7
- Timothy Castagne - 7
- Nathan Ngoy - 8
- Brandon Mechele - 7
- Maxim De Cuyper - 5
- Nicolas Raskin - 6
- Hans Vanaken - 6
- Leandro Trossard - 6
- Kevin De Bruyne - 6
- Jeremy Doku - 7
- Charles De Keteleare - 7
Substitutes:
- Axel Witsel - 6
- Romelu Lukaku - 6
- Joaquin Seys - 6
- Senne Lammens - 4
- Alexis Saelemaekers - N/A
Spain v Belgium Match Stats
Spain | Belgium | |
68% | Possession | 32% |
2.08 | Expected Goals | 0.37 |
17 | Shots | 5 |
8 | Shots on Target | 2 |
2 | Big Chances | 1 |
1 | Goalkeeper Saves | 6 |
5 | Corners | 1 |
665 | Total Passes | 314 |
90% | Pass Accuracy | 78% |
5/11 | Tackles | 6/10 |
15 | Clearances | 33 |
2 | Yellow Cards | 2 |
0 | Red Cards | 0 |
Spain v Belgium Timeline
30' - Goal Spain! Scored by Fabian Ruiz.
41' - Goal Belgium! Scored by Charles De Ketelaere, assisted by Kevin De Bruyne.
43' - Yellow card for Pau Cubarsi.
55' - Ferran Torres replaced Alex Baena, Pedri replaced Fabian Ruiz.
60' - Axel Witsel replaced Leandro Trossard, Joaquin Seys replaced Maxim De Cuyper, Romelu Lukaku replaced Hans Vanaken.
71' - Senne Lammens replaced Thibaut Courtois.
79' - Nico Williams replaced Mikel Oyarzabal.
85' - Yellow card for Kevin De Bruyne.
86' - Alexis Saelemaekers replaced Kevin De Bruyne.
86' - Mikel Merino replaced Dani Olmo.
88' - Goal Spain! Scored by Mikel Merino.
90+3' - Yellow card for Aymeric Laporte.
90+5' - Yellow card for Axel Witsel.
