World Cup 2026: Quarterfinal - Spain vs Belgium

Today we had the second of the four quarterfinals, with Spain taking on Belgium. Spain were one of the favorites coming into the tournament. Belgium had some question marks coming in but have looked good since turning things around late in their Round of 32 game against Senegal. Here are my thoughts on how it all went down:

Spain 2-1 Belgium

That ended up being a much better game than I anticipated. The first major moment happened shortly before kickoff when Belgium midfield Youri Tielemans sustained an injury in warmups and had to be taken out of the starting 11. It was a major blow for a midfield that was already missing Amadou Onana. Once the game kicked off, it went just as expected. Spain were the better team for a large part of the first half. They created the best chances and as they always do, had the majority of possession. After some near misses, Spain eventually went ahead right around the half hour mark. Pedro Porro played a cut back in the box which Dani Olmo shot at goal. Thibaut Courtois made the initial save but Fabian Ruiz was there to score from the rebound. Ruiz's shot went between the legs of a Belgium defender and took a touch that may have made it harder for Courtois to keep out. Belgium would get an unlikely equalizer just over ten minutes later. Kevin De Bruyne played a nice pass to Timothy Castagne, whose cross was met by the head of Charles De Ketelaere. De Ketelaere did well to get in front of his defender and direct his header past Unai Simon. The game would to to halftime at 1-1.

Spain continued on having more of the ball and the better chances in the second half. While there were a couple opportunities for Belgium to pull in front, it always looked more likely that it would be Spain. Another huge moment happened in the 71st when Courtois was forced off with an injury. Senne Lammens would replace him in goal. Lammens would make a critical error in the 88th minute that ended up deciding the game. Pau Cubarsi shot from long range and Lammens made the save, but spilled it for a rebound. Mikel Merino, who had just come on two minutes prior, was on hand to tap it in and give Spain the 2-1 lead. There was a bizarre moment just into stoppage time where Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon came way off his line, but they were able to clear the danger and secure their place in the Semifinals.

This was such a strange World Cup for Belgium. The team had some aging stars from their "golden generation" paired with some younger players who haven't made a name for themselves yet. In a way, similar to Croatia. They had a pretty poor group stage aside from a 5-1 win over New Zealand that won them the group. Belgium were then outplayed by Senegal for almost the full 90 minutes but miraculously came back and won. Then there was the US game, where they easily won 4-1. On paper, getting to the Quarterfinals was probably about where you would have thought they'd end up heading into the tournament. So from that perspective, their World Cup wasn't a disappointment.

Spain continue to be so tough to beat. Belgium did well taking their goal but Spain were in control for most of the game today. We still haven't seen the best of Lamine Yamal or Nico Williams either. Yamal looked better today but he can still get to another level. Spain will likely need him to if they're going to get past France in the Semifinal.

Tomorrow's Predictions

England 3-2 Norway

• This one should be an incredible game. England are the stronger team on paper but Norway have shown their class in this tournament so far. And it isn't just Haaland. Still, I think England will have enough to get past Norway here in what should be an exciting game

Argentina 2-1 Switzerland

• Argentina have had two big scares so far in the knockouts. Cape Verde pushed them all the way and Egypt had a 2-0 lead as late as the 79th minute. Switzerland will be a tough opponent but will be without young attacker Johan Manzambi yet again. I think without him, they don't have a realistic shot of winning this game. Messi and Co. are just too good.

I'll be back here tomorrow to give my thoughts on our final two Quarterfinals. I can't wait to see how things shake out. See you next time!