Spain Advances to Semi-Finals with Merino's Late Winner Against Belgium
Mikel Merino stepped off the bench and into Spanish World Cup folklore, striking an 88th-minute winner as Spain broke Belgian hearts 2-1 and marched into a semi-final showdown with France in Dallas on Tuesday.
For Belgium’s fading Golden Generation, this felt like the night the lights finally dimmed.
Spain’s patience, Belgium’s resistance
Spain arrived in Los Angeles with the cold efficiency of a machine. Six straight clean sheets in the tournament, a record. A European title already in their pocket. A style that does not always dazzle, but rarely loses its nerve.
They started here the same way: the ball theirs, the tempo theirs, Belgium pushed back and asked to suffer.
The breakthrough came on the half-hour and it was pure persistence. Dani Olmo drove into the box and let fly, Thibaut Courtois flung himself to his right and produced a superb save, but the rebound fell kindly. Fabian Ruiz reacted first, sweeping the loose ball home to give Spain a 1-0 lead and, for a moment, the familiar sense that they were tightening their grip on the tie.
Belgium refused to fold.
Nine minutes before the interval, they carved out the sort of move that has defined this generation. Timothy Castagne found space wide and whipped in a measured cross. Charles De Ketelaere attacked it, timing his run and leap perfectly, and thumped a header past Unai Simon. One chance, one ruthless finish. 1-1, and the contest was alive again.
Courtois forced off, Spain keep probing
The equaliser ignited Belgium. Kevin De Bruyne began to drift into pockets, Romelu Lukaku wrestled with centre-backs, and the match tilted into a more open, more anxious rhythm. Every Spanish attack carried menace; every Belgian break hinted at a storybook twist.
Then came a moment that changed the tone of the night.
Midway through the second half, Courtois, who had already underlined his status with that outstanding stop from Olmo, could not continue. The goalkeeper, a pillar of this Belgian era, trudged off and handed his gloves to Senne Lammens. For a side clinging to its veterans, it was a jarring sight.
Spain sensed the crack in the armour. Luis de la Fuente’s team, so comfortable on the ball, recycled possession, dragged red shirts from side to side, and waited. Lamine Yamal, still with just one goal in five games but constantly drawing defenders, stretched the pitch. Mikel Oyarzabal, already on four for the tournament, buzzed between the lines, even without finding the net this time.
The pressure built. Belgium hung on.
Merino’s moment, Belgium’s last stand
De la Fuente played his late card in the 86th minute, sending on Mikel Merino. It looked, at first, like a gesture towards extra-time control, another body to manage the midfield.
Two minutes later, Merino was sprinting away in celebration.
The move itself was simple, and all the more brutal for that. Pau Cubarsi stepped up and drove a low strike toward goal. Lammens went down to gather but failed to hold it. The ball spilled loose in the area and Merino, alive to the chaos, pounced. One touch, one finish, and Spain were back in front at 2-1.
Belgium had no grand response left. The legs were heavy, the ideas fewer. The team that had rallied from two goals down to beat Senegal 3-2 in extra-time and then thumped co-hosts the United States 4-1 could not summon one more escape.
Spain, by contrast, did what they have done all tournament: controlled, waited, then struck with clinical timing.
A new power rising, an era fading
This World Cup has been billed as a last hurrah for Belgium’s Golden Generation. De Bruyne, Lukaku, Courtois and company chased one more deep run, one more tilt at history. They leave instead with a quarter-final exit and the lingering sense of what might have been.
Spain move on, their blend of youthful talent and hardened champions gathering momentum. Six clean sheets before this, now a gritty 2-1 win when the shutout finally slipped. A team that can smother you or slice you.
Next stop: France in Dallas. European champions against world heavyweights, a semi-final thick with pedigree and tension.
Spain look ready for it. The question is whether anyone can stop this quietly ruthless machine before it reaches the very top.
