World Cup: Spain faces Belgium, aims for duel vs France

Spain’s Lamine Yamal (19) walks off the pitch after the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between Portugal and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

LOS ANGELES–European champion Spain is on a World Cup collision course with Kylian Mbappe’s France if it can beat Belgium in a quarterfinal on Friday.

At the spectacular SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, the Belgians face the daunting task of breaking through a Spanish defense that has yet to concede a goal in the tournament.

If Spain wins, it will head to Texas next Tuesday for a mouth-watering semi-final against France that many observers are already describing as the final before the final.

First, though, Spain needs to find goals against a Belgium team which started the World Cup slowly but caught fire as the tournament has gone on.

The 4-1 demolition of the USA in the last round showed just how far the team coached by Rudi Garcia have come in just a few weeks.

Spain, meanwhile, has not displayed the attacking flair of France but it is playing the possession-based football that carried it to the country’s only World Cup triumph, in South Africa in 2010.

Lamine Yamal of Barcelona, who turns 19 next week, is Spain’s standout attacker but he arrived in the United States after suffering a late-season injury and has seemed a peripheral figure at times, scoring just once in five games.

Yamal, widely tipped to inherit the mantle of the world’s greatest player from Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, could be due a goal.

“We know that the best version of him, the attacking Lamine, is something that we haven’t quite seen yet in this World Cup. Not to the level that we’re used to,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente.

In Yamal’s absence, Mikel Oyarzabal has scored four times, including twice in the 3-0 defeat of Austria in the last 32 at SoFi.

Spain has conceded just six shots on target in their five matches so far.

 Better and better

Belgium’s Hans Vanaken (20) celebrates after scoring his side’s third goal during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, Monday, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)

Belgium looked leaden and its stars ageing when it opened its group-stage account.

But the Belgians showed their mettle in an exciting defeat of Senegal in the last 32, when Youri Tielemans dragged his team back from 2-0 down to a 3-2 victory after the introduction of Romelu Lukaku as an impact substitute.

They then demolished the United States in the last 16, in a game overshadowed by President Donald Trump’s intervention to get US striker Folarin Balogun’s red card from the previous round cancelled.

That move fired up the Belgians, who gently mocked Trump with an on-field imitation of the president’s YMCA dance.

The World Cup is likely the last hurrah for the remainder of Belgium’s so-called Golden Generation, including Lukaku, former Premier League player of the year Kevin De Bruyne and towering goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of Real Madrid.

Belgium is comfortable with its status as underdog.

Coach Garcia said: “Everyone is already talking about us going home. But we think that we can do it.

“We think we can pull it off, and we’re going to do everything we can to get to the semis.”

England’s bid to return to the semi-finals after a last-eight exit four years ago hit another bump as centre-half Marc Guehi is now a doubt for Saturday’s meeting with Norway with a hamstring strain.

The Manchester City defender will be assessed Friday, but with Jarell Quansah suspended for the quarter-final clash in Miami after being sent off against Mexico in the previous round, coach Thomas Tuchel finds himself with unwanted defensive headaches as he plots on how to stop Erling Haaland.

On Thursday, France turned what was expected to be a tight quarter-final with Morocco into a clinical 2-0 win in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Mbappe scored his eighth goal of this World Cup and 20th overall before Ousmane Dembele completed the job.

The France captain was substituted and applied an ice pack to his foot, but was quick to reassure France fans that it was nothing serious.