Belgium were knocked out of 2026 FIFA World Cup by Spain following their 2-1 loss as supersub Mikel Merino came off the bench to score a late winner again.
Having dispatched tournament co-hosts USMNT in the last-16 with a stunning 4-1 victory, Belgium were second-best here for most of the game.
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Fabian Ruiz put the Spaniards in front after 30 minutes after Dani Olmo’s initial effort was parried away by Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. However, Ruiz struck the rebound into the back of the net for 1-0.
With less than five minutes remaining for half-time, Charles De Ketelaere headed in the equalizer for Belgium, which was also the first goal that Spain conceded at this FIFA World Cup.
But Rudi Garcia’s side were dealt a huge blow after the break when Courtois went off with an injury. Spain upped the ante late on, launching wave after wave of attack as Belgium were on the backfoot once more.
Their persistence paid off in the 88th minute, when Merino, who scored the winner for Spain against Portugal in the last round, popped up with another goal here. The Arsenal man pounced on a rebound after Senne Lammens had spilled Pau Cubarsi’s shot into his path.
Spain marched into the semi-finals, where they face France on Tuesday, 15 July while Belgium’s FIFA World Cup dream ends here. Here are the player ratings for Belgium:
Belgium Player Ratings
Thibaut Courtois – 7/10
Another fine game from the Belgium custodian, who made four saves in the game but went off in tears after a potential injury in the second half.
Timothy Castagne – 8/10
Castagne was a warrior in that first half, keeping Alex Baena under wraps while making a big impact at the other end of the field by assisting De Ketelaere’s goal.
Nathan Ngoy – 8/10
With seven clearances, two blocked shots and one interception, Ngoy made a big impact in defense for Belgium, throwing his body on the line to repel wave after wave of attacks.
Brandon Mechele – 7/10
Composed, very pro-active and demonstrating excellent vision, Mechele proved to be a reliable figure in defense for Belgium.
Maxim De Cuyper – 5/10
Lamine Yamal tormented him all evening with his pace and directness. He managed to get a shot away in the 55th minute that hit the side-netting.
Hans Vanaken – 6/10
He got a chance to come into the Belgium XI after Youri Tielemans picked up a knock in the warm-up but failed to impress. Did not contribute much at either end of the field.
Nicolas Raskin – 6/10
He seemed to run out of ideas on the ball while also struggling against Dani Olmo.
Leandro Trossard – 6/10
An abject display from Trossard, who failed to create a single chance or muster a shot while also coming second-best in his ground duels.
Kevin De Bruyne – 7/10
Belgium’s creative genius took some time to find his feet before laying the ball for Castagne that led to Belgium’s equalizer. But he went off the boil once again in the second half.
Jeremy Doku – 6/10
The forward always looked to break into Spain’s area and laid an excellent cross in stoppage-time for Lukaku that was cleared superbly by Aymeric Laporte.
Charles De Ketelaere – 7.5/10
Spain couldn’t cope with his aerial prowess, with De Ketelaere also beating his marker to meet a cross from Castagne and head home Belgium’s equalizer.
Substitutes
Joaquin Seys – 6.5/10
He dealt with Yamal superbly.
Axel Witsel – 6/10
The midfielder struggled to get involved.
Romelu Lukaku – 6.5/10
His positioning gave Spain a lot to think about while the striker also sought to hit them on the break in the dying embers, but rather unsuccessfully.
Senne Lammens – 5/10
Replaced Courtois in goal and gave a good account of himself until he spilled a shot for Merino to fire home late on.
Alexis Saelemaekers – N/A
Came in for De Bruyne in the closing stages.
Edited by Nived Zenith
