Spain leave it late to book semifinal date with France

Spain advanced to the World Cup semifinals by securing a 2-1 victory over Belgium in a tightly contested quarterfinal match. The decisive moment came late in the contest when Mikel Merino, introduced as a substitute in the 86th minute, capitalized on a goalkeeping error to break Belgian resistance. Merino charged into the box and finished after Senne Lammens, Manchester United's backup keeper, failed to hold a shot from Pau Cubarsi struck from outside the penalty area. This marked the second consecutive match in which Merino provided a crucial late goal for Spain, having also scored in injury time during the previous round against Portugal.

Spain's path to the semifinal was not without complications. Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the 30th minute following a sequence that began with a cut-back from Pedro Porro, with the initial shot from Dani Olmo parried by Belgium's primary goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Belgium equalized in the 41st minute through Charles De Ketelaere, whose header from Timothy Castagne's cross ended Spain's remarkable defensive record of 649 minutes without conceding throughout the tournament.

Belgium's goalkeeper situation deteriorated when Courtois departed with an apparent thigh injury in the 71st minute, forcing Lammens into the match. Despite desperate late pressure from the Belgian side, they could not find an equalizer, with Aymeric Laporte clearing their best opportunity in the closing stages. Spain will now prepare to face tournament favourite France in the semifinals scheduled for Tuesday in Dallas.