Belgium's reward for their comprehensive victory over co-hosts the United States in the round of 16 is a World Cup quarter-final against pre-tournament favorites Spain in an all-European clash at SoFi Stadium on Friday.
The Red Devils showed no mercy to the Stars & Stripes in a one-sided 4-1 success in Seattle on Monday after needing extra-time to see off Senegal 3-2 in the previous round.
Spain are yet to really catch on fire in this tournament, which has resulted in them losing their place at the head of the betting, but they remain in the hunt after beating Austria and Portugal without conceding a goal in their elimination matches.
Spain vs. Belgium betting picks and predictions
Under 2.5 goals (+100)
Spain were the pre-tournament favorites to win this World Cup but they have not captured the public's imagination since the action began. Even so, the 2010 champions have made their way through to the last eight with few scares and the odds suggest they will go further yet.
Luis de la Fuente has lost only two of his 45 matches as manager, with 34 wins, and his team came through their group campaign without conceding a goal.
They took plenty of criticism after opening the tournament with a disappointing performance in a goalless game against Cape Verde, but their opponents went on to make that form look stronger than it did at the time as they took Argentina to extra-time in the round of 32.
Spain smashed four goals past an outclassed Saudi Arabia side but one was enough to beat Uruguay. They eased past Austria 3-0 but needed more than 90 minutes to get past their neighbours Portugal in the round of 16, with a Mikel Merino goal settling the contest as extra time loomed.
Belgium should arrive in confident mood after their impressive 4-1 win over the USMNT. The Americans made life easy for the Red Devils with some error-strewn defending but it was still an accomplished effort.
Belgium had also been solid in group play, allowing only two goals in three matches, and while they gave up two goals to Senegal and one to the United States, they could make life tough for the favorites.
Taking under 2.5 goals in regulation time may be the best bet on the match with three of Spain's five games producing one or no goals. Belgium have been involved in higher-scoring contests recently, but this is likely to be a much tighter contest than their hyped-up showdown against the US.
Lamine Yamal or Charles De Ketelaere to score first (+333)
While Belgium have shared their goals around in this tournament, Charles De Ketelaere was a clear focal point of their offense against the USMNT, scoring two first-half goals.
Taking either the Belgian striker or Spanish star Lamine Yamal to score the first goal of the game is an appealing option. Yamal has scored only once in the tournament to date, but it was the opening goal of the game against Saudi Arabia and he now has 25 goals in all this season after an excellent campaign with Barcelona.
Mikel Oyarzabal is Spain's top goalscorer with four goals but they have four different first team goalscorers and the combination of Yamal and De Ketelaere is a strong option to break the deadlock in California.
Leandro Trossard to have 3+ shots (+175)
Fans of the USMNT will know all about the danger posed by Belgium attacker Leandro Trossard as the Arsenal man was a real livewire in the last round.
Trossard fired off four shots in the match at Lumen Field and that was the third time in his side's five matches that he has had three or more attempts on goal.
None of his efforts were on target against the US, although he has had three in the tournament, but preference is just to concentrate on the quantity rather than the quality of his shots on this occasion.
Spain vs. Belgium odds
Spain | -163 |
Tie | +290 |
Belgium | +450 |
Spain vs. Belgium player props
Anytime Goalscorer
Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) | +120 |
Lamine Yamal (Spain) | +150 |
Ferran Torres (Spain) | +187 |
Mikel Merino (Spain) | +260 |
Charles De Ketelaere (Belgium) | +300 |
Romelu Lukaku (Belgium) | +300 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
