World Cup: Ex-BVB midfielder Merino does it again as Spain set to face France

Spain are through to the semi-final of the World Cup after their 2-1 win over Belgium in Los Angeles. The result extended the unbeaten record by Luis de la Fuente's side to 26 games. Late substitutions at either end affected the match as the 2010 winners continue their progress.  

Belgium already had to deal with Amadou Onana's tournament-ending injury in the Round of 16, and they faced another setback here during warmups. The captain Youri Tielemans joined the former HSV and Hoffenheim midfielder with a late injury ruling him out of the game.

And, as expected, Spain dominated the play, with Lamine Yamal finally showing sharpness. La Roja took the lead when Fabian Ruiz ended a nearly two-year goalless drought for Spain after Thibaut Courtois initially parried away the effort from ex-RB Leipzig midfielder Dani Olmo.

Spain looked in full control of the game when they suffered the sucker punch from Charles di Ketelaere just before the half-time break. The AC Milan attacker scored his third goal of the tournament by beating Pau Cubarsi in an aerial duel.

Yamal and Spain continued to have the better chances, but Rudi Garcia's side managed to hold on until the 88th minute after ending Spain's record-breaking seven-game clean sheet streak. Former Borussia Dortmund midfielder Mikel Merino was the matchwinner against Portugal, and the supersub did it again to book Spain's semi-final spot.

Senne Lammens, who came on for his World Cup debut after Courtois became the next Belgian star to suffer an injury, failed to deal with Cubarsi's long-range effort properly, which led to a simple finish for Merino a couple of minutes after his introduction. Unai Simon also had shaky moments in Spain's goal in injury-time, but they saw out the result to qualify for the semi-final for only the second time in their history.

Spain will face France in the first semi-final on Tuesday, a day after Yamal's 19th birthday. FC Barcelona’s superstar is yet to reach his full potential in the tournament, but he won the “Superior Player of the Match” once again. Spain reached the finals of Euro 2024 and last year's Nations League with semi-final victories over France, but Michael Olise and co will be the favorites heading to Tuesday's fixture.