Spain defeats Belgium and faces France in the semifinals of the 2026 World Cup.

The Spanish national team reached the semifinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup after achieving a last-minute victory over their Belgian counterparts with a score of two to one, in the match held on Friday at the "SoFi" Stadium in Los Angeles, setting up a date with the French national team in the final four.

Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain in the thirtieth minute, before Charles De Ketelaere equalized for Belgium in the forty-first minute, ending the first half in a positive draw.

The score remained unchanged until the final minutes, before substitute Mikel Merino snatched the winning goal in the eighty-eighth minute, just two minutes after entering the field, repeating the same scenario that led his team to overcome Portugal in the Round of 16 with a late goal.

With this victory, Spain reached the semifinals for the first time since the 2010 World Cup, during which they won their only world title in history.

The Spanish national team will face the French team in the semifinals, after the "Roosters" eliminated the Moroccan team with a score of two to zero on Tuesday in Dallas.

The Spanish team topped their group after a goalless draw with Cape Verde, followed by two victories over Saudi Arabia with four goals to none, and over Uruguay with a single goal, before defeating Austria with a clean three-goal sheet in the Round of 32, and then Portugal with a late goal in the Round of 16.

For its part, the Belgian national team had a remarkable journey in the tournament, after drawing with Egypt and Iran in the group stage, then winning against New Zealand with a score of five to one, and achieving an exciting comeback against Senegal in the Round of 32, when they turned a two-goal deficit into a three-two victory after extra time, before thrashing the United States, one of the host countries, with a score of four to one in the Round of 16.