That's a wrap for our coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final between Spain and Belgium. A thriller at Los Angeles today, with Spain ultimately winning. 

We are only halfway done with the quarters. A Norway-England battle awaits us tomorrow, do join us on NDTV Sports for that. For now, it's goodbye!

So the first semi-final is set. France will take on Spain in a blockbuster all-European clash for a place in the FIFA World Cup final. It's a repeat of the Euro 2024 semi-final, which Spain won 2-1. Arguably the two biggest favourites to win the World Cup will clash in the semis!

Mikel Merino has emerged as Spain's super-sub once again. Just a few days after a 91st-minute winning goal to send Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal packing, he has now slammed in the late dagger against Belgium in the 88th minute today. 

2 - @mikelmerino1 es el primer jugador que marca dos goles que significan la victoria para #Espana en el #Mundial a partir del minuto 80.

Lo hizo ante #Portugal en la ronda anterior y ante #Bélgica hoy.

Héroe. pic.twitter.com/1fjb5YZM3u

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) July 10, 2026

Scoring late goals was Belgium's habit up until this point, but they're at the receiving end of it today. Thibaut Courtois having to go off cost them dearly, as Lammens ended up making the decisive error. Nevertheless, Belgium can be proud of the fight they gave to one of the biggest favourites of the World Cup.

FULL TIME! SPAIN ARE THROUGH TO THE SEMIS! A late, late goal by Mikel Merino once again to take Spain to victory. End of the road for Belgium, who gave a great fight. But Spain have done it. They reach their first World Cup semi-final since winning the tournament in 2010.

FT | ESP 2-1 BEL

Massive chance squandered by Belgium! Alexis Saelemaekers did brilliantly to dribble past Unai Simon, who was out of his goal, but he failed to find Romelu Lukaku in the box, who was waiting to score into an open net! Saelemaekers' cross is headed out by Spain's defence. Huge, huge chances goes begging.

90 2' ESP 2-1 BEL

GOOOOOAAAAALLLLLL! Spain retake the lead in the dying minutes! It's Mikel Merino again! Cubarsi takes a strike from range, Belgium's substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens spills it, and Mikel Merino is there to tap in the rebound! Less than two minutes after coming on, Merino puts Spain back in front.

Winning goal against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal, has Merino now scored the winning goal against Belgium?

88' ESP 2-1 BEL

Rodri picks out Lamine Yamal with a superb lobbed throughball from midfield, Yamal makes a clever run, but Belgium left-back Joaquin Seys recovers brilliantly and makes the tackle. Had Yamal managed to break free, he would have had a clear shot at goal.

84' ESP 1-1 BEL

Luis de la Fuente makes a bold change, bringing on left-winger Nico Williams in place of Mikel Oyarzabal. Nico has suffered from injury during this World Cup, but him and Yamal can form a deadly wing duo when in form.

80' ESP 1-1 BEL

Thibaut Courtois is down on the ground. He might've pulled something in one of his previous saves. It would be a major blow for Belgium if they lose their legendary goalkeeper at such a crucial stage. They have a good back-up option in Manchester United's Senne Lammens, but Courtois is still arguably the best goalkeeper in the world.

And he's off! Courtois has been substituted, Senne Lammens comes on.

71' ESP 1-1 BEL

Fantastic save by Thibaut Courtois once again to keep Belgium alive! Moments after denying Yamal's long-range shot, Courtois anticipates the danger and denies Oyarzabal's low shot in the box. Covers his near-post brilliantly does the 6'7" giant.

63' ESP 1-1 BEL

Three changes for Belgium! Striker Romelu Lukaku, defensive midfielder Axel Witsel and left-back Joaquin Seys are on. Off go Trossard, Vanaken and De Cuyper. Immediately after the changes, Lamine Yamal takes a dangerous shot but Thibaut Courtois saves!

61' ESP 1-1 BEL

First substitutions for Spain. Pedri finally gets his opportunity in the quarter-final, he replaces Spain's goalscorer Fabian Ruiz. Ferran Torres also replaces Alex Baena on the left wing. 

55' ESP 1-1 BEL

Kevin De Bruyne starts the attack for Belgium with a lovely throughball to Jeremy Doku, who cuts it in, Spain clear but only as far as Belgium left-back Maxim De Cuyper, who shoots it hard but onto the side-netting! Spain survive a scare.

54' ESP 1-1 BEL

Lamine Yamal is in full swing, and he is cutting inside to create a lot of space for his teammates. Spain orchestrate some lovely build-up play outside the Belgium box, waiting for their chance, and then Yamal has a shot towards goal that takes a deflection and goes out for a corner.

52' ESP 1-1 BEL

A sensational throughball by Pau Cubarsi from the deep, Lamine Yamal breaks past the Belgian defence and latches onto it, but Thibaut Courtois rushes out of goal and saves! Oh, and it's offside! Very, very narrowly but offside.

Belgium cannot afford such lapses with the semi-finals at stake.

48' ESP 1-1 BEL

The second half is underway! Spain's run of 649 minutes without a World Cup goal has been ended, but can they now find the winning goal? Or do Belgium have another magic trick up their sleeve? 45 thrilling minutes to go!

46' ESP 1-1 BEL

Spain created more chances and took more shots in the first half, and the numbers show that. But Belgium showed great resilience, at first with their defending and then by fighting back with the equaliser. Can they continue the momentum into the second half? They still have the likes of Romelu Lukaku set to come on.

Expected goals in the first half:

Spain (1.08) 1-1 (0.18) Belgium pic.twitter.com/wthi6aYuzj

— The Touchline | (@TouchlineX) July 10, 2026

This is Lamine Yamal's sixth FIFA World Cup appearance, making him the player with the most appearances in World Cup history at the age of 18 or younger! He can also become the youngest World Cup goalscorer in the 21st century if he scores today.

6 - Lamine Yamal is making his sixth FIFA World Cup appearance, the outright most by a player aged 18 or younger in the competition.

Stardom. pic.twitter.com/OLYbabyXOK

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) July 10, 2026

HALF TIME! It's all square at the break. Spain took the lead as Fabian Ruiz scored in the 30th minute. But Belgium fought back against the run of play with a brilliant goal from Charles De Ketelaere. All to play for in the second 45, stay tuned!

HT | ESP 1-1 BEL

Five minutes of stoppage time announced at the end of the first half. Spain are on the attack once again. Fabian Ruiz takes a shot from the edge of the box, but it's blocked, and then Belgium threaten on the counter but Spain manage to intervene! Both sides look hungry for the go-ahead goal!

45 2' ESP 1-1 BEL

GOOOOAAAALLLL! Belgium equalise! A lovely cross by Timothy Castagne from the right wing, and Charles De Ketelaere scores with a brilliant header! Spain's run of more than 10 hours without conceding a World Cup goal, which was a Guinness World Record, comes to an end. 

41' ESP 1-1 BEL

Lamine Yamal wins a free-kick for Spain, as he is brought down right on the edge of the Belgium box. Yamal ends up taking the free-kick too, and he tests the Belgium goal, but Courtois makes the save. Belgium manage to defend the chance ultimately, but Spain are continuing to probe even after the opening goal.

34' ESP 1-0 BEL

GOOOOAAAAALLLL! Spain break the deadlock! Fabian Ruiz is the goalscorer. Brought into Spain's starting XI in place of Pedri, Fabian has delivered. It's a chance created down the right, Dani Olmo's shot is saved by Courtois, but Fabian Ruiz is first to the rebound and he scores. Looks like Fabian's shot took a deflection and went in, tad unlucky for Belgium.

30' ESP 1-0 BEL

Lamine Yamal delivers a swerving outside-of-the-boot cross from the right wing towards the box. It is collected by Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, but that's the sort of unorthodox attempt that gets the crowd going. Nevertheless, Belgium have defended very well so far.

28' ESP 0-0 BEL

Lamine Yamal gets the ball right on the edge of the Belgium box, manages to get some space and shoot at goal, but his curling effort goes wide. Yamal appeals for a corner, claiming a deflection, but the referee does not award it.

21' ESP 0-0 BEL

A brilliant long ball from deep by Spain towards Alex Baena in the box, whose shot is blocked by Belgian defender Nathan Ngoy. Baena appeals for a handball but it's not given. Replays do show the ball possibly coming off Ngoy's arm. It's a close call in terms of offside too for Baena.

13' ESP 0-0 BEL

First real opportunity for Spain! It's a direct free-kick on the left wing, and Spain fizz in a powerful low shot. That is defended well by Belgium, and then the ball falls to Rodri in the box who shoots hard but sees his attempt blocked. 

10' ESP 0-0 BEL

Belgium captain Youri Tielemans was originally named in the starting XI to face Spain, but has been ruled out last-minute due to an injury in the warm-ups. He has been replaced by Hans Vanaken in the Belgian midfield.

Following an injury during the warm-up, Youri Tielemans is replaced in the starting XI by Hans Vanaken.

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 10, 2026

KICKOFF! The quarter-final between Spain and Belgium is underway in Los Angeles! It's the eighth and final game to take place at this stadium. Spain in their classic red kit, Belgium in their glorious bluish-pink. Belgium show some intent early on!

1' ESP 0-0 BEL

The Spain and Belgium players walk out onto the Los Angeles Stadium. Spain certainly the favourites, not just today but to win the whole tournament. But Belgium are hitting their stride at the right moment and should not be underestimated. Time for the national anthems!

Spain have not conceded a single goal so far in FIFA World Cup 2026, and are the only team to do so. In that stretch, Spain have set the record for the most consecutive minutes in World Cups without conceding a goal! Even Guinness World Records' official account posted it.

Spain have now surpassed the previous record for the longest time without conceding at the FIFA World Cup

— Guinness World Records (@GWR) July 6, 2026

The winner of the Spain-Belgium quarter-final will face France in the FIFA World Cup semi-finals. France entered a third consecutive World Cup semi for the first time yesterday, beating Morocco 2-0 in their quarter-final clash. 

Kevin De Bruyne is back in Belgium's starting XI, but he may be in a new role today. With defensive midfielder Amadou Onana out of the World Cup due to injury, Belgium manager Rudi Garcia has opted to replace him with De Bruyne. As a result, we might see De Bruyne in a deep-lying playmaker role instead of natural attacking midfield role today.

Spain's teenage sensation Lamine Yamal is on the cusp of a massive record. If he scores against Belgium, Yamal will become the youngest player to score a FIFA World Cup knockout goal in the 21st century. Overall, he would climb to third on the ladder, behind Pele (in 1958) and Michael Owen (in 1998).

In 2008, Axel Witsel made his Belgium debut against Spain in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. Fast forward to 2026, and he's in the squad to face Spain in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals. Incredible longevity!

| Axel Witsel is de oudste Belg ooit op een WK. Legacy. pic.twitter.com/ekLIwaP1mQ

— DAZN Belgie (@DAZN_BENL) July 8, 2026

Kevin De Bruyne is back in the mix for Belgium! He starts after a no-show against the USA in the Round of 16. Jeremy Doku is also back amongst the starters, while Charles de Ketelaere leads the line for the Red Devils.

Fresh off the press: our XI. #SelectedByPwC #ESPBEL pic.twitter.com/7Du1sNZ4CL

— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 10, 2026

Massive news from the Spain camp as star midfielder Pedri has been benched by manager Luis de la Fuente for the quarter-final clash. PSG midfielder Fabian Ruiz comes into the starting XI and will partner Rodri and Dani Olmo in the heart of Spain's midfield.

Notably, Spain are yet to concede a goal at this World Cup.

Spain starting XI: Unai Simon, Cucurella, Cubarsi, Laporte, Pedro Porro, Ruiz, Rodri, Baena, Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Oyarzabal

OFICIAL | Nuestro once ante Bélgica.#VamosEspana | #CopaMundialFIFA pic.twitter.com/XgspP4mfVq

— Seleccion Espanola Masculina de Futbol (@SEFutbol) July 10, 2026

Hello and welcome to NDTV Sports' live coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final clash between Spain and Belgium. The iconic city of Los Angeles plays host to this blockbuster encounter, with a place in the semi-finals against France at stake. We are just under an hour away from kick-off!

Stay tuned with NDTV Sports for all the live updates, scores, key moments and reactions from the match!