INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Spain beat Belgium 2-1 in Friday’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal, advancing to a semifinal against France on Tuesday, according to Jeff Carlisle. Fabián Ruiz opened the scoring in the 30th minute with a rebound and Charles De Ketelaere equalized in the 41st minute from Timothy Castagne’s cross.
The winner arrived late when Pau Cubarsí’s long-range attempt was not held by substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, allowing Mikel Merino to tuck in the decisive goal two minutes from the end of normal time. Carlisle described Merino as a super-sub whose strike secured Spain’s place in the last four.
Gabriele Marcotti noted Spain have scored 11 goals from 11.83 expected goals at this World Cup, highlighting concerns about finishing and the absence of a genuine centre forward. Marcotti cited the profiles of Mikel Oyarzabal and Ferran Torres — both deployed in central roles at times but not proven open-play finishers — and pointed out that Borja Iglesias has played only one minute so far, against Portugal.
Marcotti wrote that manager Luis de la Fuente prefers a mobile, chance-creating attack rather than a physical target striker, trusting sustained possession and substitutions to eventually yield goals. Merino’s late intervention has provided a timely solution from the bench in recent matches, Marcotti added.
Belgium’s challenge was compounded by injuries, Marcotti reported. Amadou Onana tore his ACL in the round of 16 against the United States; Youri Tielemans was withdrawn from the starting lineup after a groin problem in the warmup, despite having covered more ground for Belgium than any teammate (61.8 km) in the tournament; and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left the game in the 71st minute with a muscle injury after making key saves earlier in the match.
