Spain vs Belgium FIFA World Cup QF match results: Merino wool worked its magic again, Spain defeated Belgium and entered the World Cup semi-finals | Football News
Super-sub Mikel Merino was the hero again on Friday when he scored a dramatic 88th-minute winner to send Spain into the World Cup semi-finals with a thrilling 2-1 victory over Belgium.Spain will face World Cup favorites France in a thrilling semifinal on Tuesday in Dallas. “It will be a clash of giants,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said after the game.The decisive moment came just two minutes after Merino came on. In the 88th minute, Paul Kubasi hit a powerful long-range shot. Belgium backup goalkeeper Sene Lamenz grabbed the rebound, allowing the Arsenal striker to slot the ball into the net with his second touch of the game. Previously, Merino scored the winning goal in the 91st minute against Portugal in the round of 16.It was a heartbreaking end for Belgium, who lost star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to a thigh injury in the 71st minute. Courtois left the field in tears and was replaced by Lamence.Previously, the Spanish team broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Lamine Yamal and Pedro Polo combined brilliantly on the right wing to create a chance for Dani Olmo. When Courtois blocked Olmo’s first shot, Fabian Ruiz was in the perfect position to tap the rebound. Ruiz made a surprise move into the starting lineup, replacing Pedri.The Spanish team’s defensive resilience has been fully demonstrated. Before this game, they had not conceded a goal in five consecutive games. Goalkeeper Unai Simon set a World Cup record of 650 minutes without conceding a goal. However, the historic run ended in the 41st minute when Belgian player Charles De Ketelaere broke through Kubasi and headed in a precise cross from Timothy Castagne.Belgium suffered a pre-match blow with Amadou Onana injured and captain Youri Tielemans withdrawing from the warm-up, but Kevin De Bruyne returned to the squad. Despite a late performance from Romelu Lukaku, Aymeric Laporte made a crucial acrobatic clearance in injury time to seal Spain’s victory.With this victory, Spain extended their incredible unbeaten run to 37 games, while Belgium’s 18-match unbeaten run was also ended.
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