Mikel Merino Eliminates Belgium, Spain Will Face France in the 2026 World Cup Semi-Finals

Mikel Merino once again proved himself as the hero of the Spain national team's victory. The 29-year-old midfielder scored the decisive goal that gave La Roja a 2-1 win over Belgium in the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-final match at SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, United States, early Saturday morning WIB.

Merino's goal secured Spain's ticket to the semi-finals. Next up, Luis de la Fuente's squad will face France in a high-tension clash at AT&T Stadium, Arlington, early Wednesday morning WIB.

Spain took attacking initiative right from the first half kick-off. Dani Olmo fired a powerful shot from inside the penalty area, but Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois produced an outstanding save.

La Roja's pressure bore fruit in the 30th minute. Courtois initially parried the first attempt, but Fabian Ruiz pounced on the loose rebound. Spain took a 1-0 lead.

Belgium responded with more aggressive play. As a result, Rudi Garcia's side equalised the score shortly before the half-time break.

The equalising goal came in the 41st minute. Timothy Castagne sent an accurate cross into the penalty box which was headed in by Charles De Ketelaere, an effort Unai Simon could not stop. The score became 1-1.

Entering the second half, Courtois once again showed his class by denying Mikel Oyarzabal's goalscoring chance.

The match dynamic shifted in the 71st minute when Belgium lost Courtois due to injury. The Real Madrid first-choice goalkeeper had to leave the pitch, with Senne Lammens coming on as his replacement.

This goalkeeper substitution became the turning point of the match. Spain increased their attacking intensity, forcing Belgium's backline to work frantically to block every chance created.

La Roja's efforts finally produced a goal in the 88th minute. Pau Cubarsi unleashed a long-range shot that Lammens managed to block, but the goalkeeper failed to secure the rebound cleanly. Mikel Merino reacted sharply to latch onto the loose ball and put Spain back ahead 2-1.

Belgium fought desperately to salvage the match in the final minutes. Alexis Saelemaekers managed to get past Unai Simon and deliver a cross into the goalmouth, but Aymeric Laporte made a crucial last-ditch clearance just before the ball reached Romelu Lukaku.

Belgium continued applying pressure all throughout stoppage time, but Spain's disciplined defence managed to hold their lead until the final whistle.

Match Line-ups

Spain (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Fabian Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal

Belgium (4-2-3-1): Thibaut Courtois; Maxim De Cuyper, Brandon Mechele, Nathan Ngoy, Timothy Castagne; Nicholas Raskin, Youri Tielemans; Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard; Charles De Ketelaere