Spain face a third straight European opponent in the knockout stage as Belgium look to repeat their nation’s famous 1986 quarter-final win against La Roja.
Quarter-final
Saturday, 11 July | Los Angeles Stadium
Kick-off time
03:00 (GMT+8)
The match
Spain and Belgium meet in Los Angeles with a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026™ semi-finals at stake. Both nations emerged from the group stage as unbeaten section winners, with La Roja then producing one of the standout performances of the Round of 32 to sweep aside Austria 3-0. Luis de la Fuente’s side won a tight Iberian derby with Portugal in the last 16 thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Mikel Merino, booking Spain a third successive knockout match against European opposition.
Belgium, meanwhile, have enjoyed a topsy-turvy, goal-filled knockout stage so far. Seemingly down and out when losing 2-0 to Senegal in the Round of 32, the Red Devils rallied to snatch a famous 3-2 extra-time victory. Against co-hosts USA in the Round of 16, it was more straightforward as Charles De Ketelaere’s first-half double set Belgium on their way to a comfortable 4-1 win in Seattle.
For the Red Devils, this World Cup – and especially each knockout match – represents the likely final hurrah of the last vestiges of the nation’s fabled golden generation. Coach Rudi Garcia still relies on several of Belgium’s veterans, with Kevin De Bruyne a creative reference point, Thibaut Courtois a commanding last line of defence and Romelu Lukaku a world-class finisher who has joined the pantheon of great World Cup goalscorers at this tournament. Lukaku’s three strikes in North America have put him level with Diego Maradona, Rudi Voller and Rivaldo on eight World Cup goals.
The clash with Spain is Belgium’s third quarter-final in four World Cups and fourth overall; the Red Devils beat La Roja at this stage in 1986 and Brazil in 2018, sandwiching a loss to Argentina in 2014. For Spain, the quarter-finals have not often been a happy hunting ground. They have only cleared the last eight twice, making it to the final group stage in 1950 and beating Paraguay on their way to lifting the trophy in South Africa 60 years later.
With Rodri the midfield anchor, Pedri and Dani Olmo bringing craft between the lines and Lamine Yamal continuing to show why he is one of the tournament’s most exciting talents, a showdown with Belgium offers the 2010 champions another chance to show that their new generation is ready to add to that historic World Cup triumph.
Spain possible starting XI
Unai Simon; Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal
Belgium possible starting XI
Courtois; Castagne, Mechele, Ngoy, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Raskin, Vanaken; Lukebakio, De Ketelaere, Trossard
What they said…
“We’re feeling well and if we keep improving, we’ll hopefully bring our A-game against Spain, as we’ll certainly need it. We need to believe in ourselves first and foremost, I think that’s our priority. This Spain team is obviously the favourite. They won the last [UEFA] EURO. They are a top-quality team… but we won’t have an inferiority complex. We know that they’re a good team but we also have our strengths to assert. We are determined to challenge them to the point, where hopefully, we can knock them out. That is our objective and we don’t have any other, as we don’t want to stop now that things are going so well.” Rudi Garcia, Belgium coach
“It speaks for itself that Spain is a fantastic team, players that play for the best clubs in the world. If we want to achieve anything, we’re going to have to be at our best like we did against the USA.” Charles De Ketelaere, Belgium forward
“Our quarter-final against Spain is going to be tough. I think we’ll have to play the perfect match to go through. We’ll need to be solid defensively, solid in attack and be pragmatic and decisive. The perfect match… then we’ll see.” Nicholas Raskin, Belgium midfielder
Los Angeles Stadium
Los Angeles Stadium is the newest venue chosen to host FIFA World Cup 2026™, having opened in September 2020. It is situated just a 30-minute drive from Pasadena’s famous Rose Bowl Stadium, which hosted the World Cup final in 1994. Both the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers play their NFL fixtures at the venue, which also hosted Super Bowl LVI as the Rams defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 23-20 in 2022. Los Angeles Stadium has already hosted a number of concerts under its iconic and unique roof, with Taylor Swift, BTS and Ed Sheeran among the artists to have graced the venue.