Spain Advances to World Cup Semi-Finals with Merino's Late Winner

Mikel Merino stepped out of the shadows and into Spanish football folklore, smashing home an 88th‑minute winner as Spain broke Belgian hearts 2-1 to reach the World Cup semi-finals.

The substitute had barely been on the pitch for two minutes in Los Angeles when the ball spilled loose inside the box. Pau Cubarsi’s low drive should have been routine for replacement goalkeeper Senne Lammens. It wasn’t. He failed to hold it, and Merino reacted faster than anyone in red or yellow, drilling the rebound in and sending Spain on to a heavyweight last-four clash with France in Dallas on Tuesday.

For Belgium’s ageing Golden Generation, this felt like the beginning of the end.

Spain’s ruthless edge

Luis de la Fuente’s side arrived with history at their back. Six consecutive World Cup clean sheets, the first team ever to do so. A European title in their pocket. A reputation for control, not chaos.

They rarely dazzle for 90 minutes, but they suffocate you. They keep the ball, they wait, they probe. And when the chance comes, they tend not to miss.

On 30 minutes, the pattern held. Dani Olmo burst through and unleashed a fierce effort that seemed destined for the corner until Thibaut Courtois, all wingspan and instinct, flung himself across to claw it out. It was a stunning save, the kind that usually changes a tie.

It changed this one too—just not in the way Belgium hoped.

The rebound fell kindly for Fabian Ruiz, who had followed play in while Belgian shirts switched off for a heartbeat. Ruiz didn’t. He swept the loose ball in and Spain, without needing to raise the tempo, were in front.

Spain settled into their rhythm. Passes zipped, angles opened, Belgium chased. It felt ominous.

Belgium bite back

But this Belgian side, for all the scars of past tournaments, still carries a punch.

Nine minutes before the break, they landed it. Timothy Castagne surged into space on the right and whipped in a teasing cross. Charles De Ketelaere timed his run perfectly, slipped between defenders and met it with a firm header, steering the ball beyond Unai Simon.

The equaliser jolted the game to life. Kevin De Bruyne started to find pockets, Romelu Lukaku wrestled with centre-backs, and the contest suddenly had an edge that had been missing from Spain’s controlled dominance.

Belgium, remember, had stormed into this quarter-final on the back of a 4-1 demolition of co-hosts United States, days after clawing back from two goals down to beat Senegal 3-2 in extra-time. They knew how to live on the brink.

For long spells after the interval, it looked like they might drag Spain there with them.

Courtois’ cruel exit

Then came the moment that changed the tone of the second half.

Midway through the period, Courtois signalled to the bench. The towering goalkeeper, who had kept Belgium in the contest with that first-half stop from Olmo, could not continue. On came Senne Lammens, thrust into the biggest night of his career with a World Cup semi-final place on the line.

Spain smelled the uncertainty. They pushed higher. Lamine Yamal, still with just one goal in five games at this tournament but always a threat, stretched the pitch. Mikel Oyarzabal, already on four goals for the campaign after his brace in the 3-0 win over Austria in the last 32, kept dragging defenders away, creating pockets of space for late runners.

The pressure built, slowly but relentlessly.

Merino’s moment

De la Fuente turned to his bench again in the 86th minute, sending on Merino. Fresh legs, fresh mind, one clear instruction: go and decide it.

Two minutes later, he did.

Cubarsi stepped up from the back and drove in a low effort from the edge of the area. It wasn’t vicious, but it skidded awkwardly in front of Lammens. The substitute keeper couldn’t gather cleanly. The ball spilled, and in that split second of panic, Merino arrived.

One touch, one swing, one ruthless finish. Spain 2, Belgium 1. No clean sheet this time, but no one in red cared.

Belgium threw what they had left at the final minutes. De Bruyne probed, Lukaku battled, crosses rained in. It felt like one last push from a generation that has carried the country so far without ever quite touching the biggest prize.

Spain held firm, as they have all tournament.

Now the European champions head to Dallas, still efficient, still composed, and now just two games from the ultimate crown. For De Bruyne, Lukaku and the remnants of that Golden Generation, the question hangs heavy: was this their last real shot at the World Cup stage?