Former champions Spain will go toe-to-toe against Belgium in their quarter-final of the FIFA World Cup 2026, with the winner of this match set to take on France in the last four.
Spain's journey in this tournament began with a surprise goalless draw against World Cup debutants Cabo Verde. The reigning European Champions bounced back from that draw to defeat Saudi Arabia and Uruguay in their next to games and qualify for the knockouts.
In the Round of 32, Spain demolished Austria 3-0. The Round of 16 saw La Roja take on their Iberian rivals Portugal in an highly-anticipated clash, which was settled by a slender scoreline of 1-0 with Mikel Merino netting the only goal of the match.
Belgium's campaign was off to a sluggish start but has now picked up pace. The Red Devils were held to draws by Egypt and Iran, two teams ranked much lower than them, in their first two games. Their group-stage concluded with a thumping win over less fancied New Zealand.
In the Round of 32, Belgium locked horns with Senegal. The Europeans staged a very late comeback to go through to the Round of 16. Up next for Belgium were USA. Belgium overcame the challenge posed by the the tournament co-hosts with relative ease as they clinched the game 4-1.
Match Venue, Time
The game between Spain and Belgium will be held at the SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, California, USA. The match is set to start at 12:30 a.m. Indian Standard Time on Saturday.
Head-to-Head
- Matches Played: 22
- Spain wins: 11
- Belgium wins: 5
- Draws: 6
The two sides have crossed each other's paths twice before at the World Cups. The first time Belgium and Spain played each other in a World Cup match was in 1986 and Belgium overcame Spain via a penalty shootouts. Four years later, Spain exacted revenge by winning the game against their European rivals 2-1.
Form Guide (last five matches, most recent first):
- Spain: W-W-W-W-D
- Belgium: W-W-W-D-D
Spain
- Possible Playing 11 (4-2-3-1): Unai Simon; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodrigo Hernandez, Pedri Gonzalez; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal
- Substitutes: David Raya, Joan Garcia, Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill Eric Garcia, Alejandro Grimaldo, Martin Zubimendi, Fabian Ruiz, Mikel Merino, Pablo Paez 'Gavi', Alex Baen, Ferran Torres, Borja Iglesias, Victor Munoz, Nico Williams, Yeremy Pino.
Belgium
- Possible Playing 11 (4-2-3-1): Thibaut Courtois; Timothy Castagne, Brandon Mechele, Nathan Ngoy, Maxim De Cuyper; Youri Tielemans, Nicolas Raskin, Hans Vanaken; Lukebakio, Charles De Ketelaere, Leandro Trossard
- Substitutes: Senne Lammens, Mike Penders, Zeno Debast, Koni De Winter, Thomas Meunier, Joaquin Seys, Arthur Theate, Kevin De Bruyne, Amadou Onana, Axel Witsel, Jeremy Doku, Matias Fernandez-Pardo, Romelu Lukaku, Dodi Lukebakio, Diego Moreira, Alexis Saelemekars
Players to Watch
- Unai Simon (Spain): Spain have reached the quarterfinals of the World Cup without conceding a goal. By keeping a clean sheet against Portugal, Spain created the new World Cup record with its sixth consecutive clean sheet and the goalkeeper extended his record shutout streak to 609 minutes.
- Romelu Lukaku (Belgium): While he may not be starting for Belgium, but Romelu Lukaku is surely making a difference for the team as a substitute. He has scored three goals and provided one assists all as a substitute.
How To Watch Live Telecast?
The Belgium vs Spain FIFA World Cup 2026 match will be televised live in India on Unite8 Sports 1, Unite8 Sports 1 HD, Unite8 Sports 2 and Unite8 Sports 2 HD television channels.
How To Watch Live Streaming?
The Belgium vs Spain FIFA World Cup 2026 game will be streamed live on the ZEE5 app and website in English, Malayalam, Bangla and Hindi.
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