Mikel Merino came off the bench to break Belgian hearts with a slip from sub-keeper Senne Ramens.
Published July 10, 2026
Mikel Merino scored in the 88th minute off a rebound from Belgian reserve goalkeeper Senne Ramens, giving Spain a 2-1 victory and advancing to the World Cup semi-finals.
Merino was the late hero for the second straight game as Spain advanced to face tournament favorites France in the semifinals in Dallas on Tuesday.
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Merino, who came on in the 86th minute, scored with his second touch of the game, rushing into the box and pouncing on Ramens as he spilled Pau Kvarsi’s shot from outside the area.
The Arsenal forward also came on as a substitute and scored early in stoppage time to give Spain a 1-0 win over Portugal in the last 16.
Manchester United goalkeeper Lamence was forced to come on in the 71st minute after long-time Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was sent off with what appeared to be a thigh injury.
Belgium desperately looked for an equalizer in the final minutes, but Aymeric Laporte volleyed home the best chance from inside the box.
Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain in the 30th minute after Courtois parried Dani Olmo’s shot from Pedro Polo’s cutback from the right of the area, but Belgian striker Charles de Quetelaère scored Spain’s first goal of the entire World Cup in the 41st minute.
He scored with a header from Timothy Castagne’s cross from the right, ending his streak of consecutive clean sheets in the World Cup after 649 minutes.
