Spain vs Belgium, FIFA World Cup 2026 Quarterfinal Live Updates: Spain eye Belgium scalp

Spain vs Belgium World Cup 2026 Quarterfinal Match Live: Lamine Yamal is Spain's attacking spearhead at this World Cup. (Photo: AP)

After sending home Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, Spain face Belgium in a clash of European giants in the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup on Friday night. Spain hasn’t lost and hasn’t even conceded a single goal at this year’s World Cup. La Roja is unbeaten in 36 straight competitive matches since March 2023.

Spain vs Belgium Football Live Score

Score

ESP 0-0 BEL

Half

Game yet to start

Current Minute

Game yet to start

Spain Goals

0

Belgium Goals

0

Venue

SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles

Big moment of game

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This lofty standard of play clearly doesn’t scare Belgium, which is on a surging trajectory of its own heading into the teams’ World Cup quarter-final. While Spain has been Europe’s most consistent winner for the past 3 1/2 years, Belgium has played its way into position for what could be the final chance for its golden generation to do something spectacular together.

The tantalizing clash at SoFi Stadium matches a pre-tournament favorite and the reigning European champions against Belgium, which has never quite reached its full potential despite the big-money stars across its roster. The winner faces France in the Dallas area on Tuesday in the semifinals.

Scroll down for live updates from the Spain vs Belgium game

Live Updates

Mikel Merino’s invisible intrusion pushes Portugal out of the World Cup

From the shadows pounced Mikel Merino. He was not in the place he was meant to be. Yet here he was. Wigging through half a space the tired Portuguese defenders had left unmarked. Latching onto a needle-through-an-eye pass of Ferran Torres and coaxing the ball past an unsuspecting Diogo Costa.

Merino is seldom the hero before a game, little reams of newsprint is spent on his utilitarian affinities to influence a game. But not for the first time, he made the difference for his team, the difference between an exhaustive extra time and potential tiebreaker. The difference between Cristiano Ronaldo living another day and bidding farewell to a tournament that seldom has been his.

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