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Spain Beats Belgium 2-1 to Reach World Cup Semifinals

Merino’s late winner sends Spain into a semifinal clash with France.

  • Publish date: since 8 hours Reading time: 1 min read
Spain Beats Belgium 2-1 to Reach World Cup Semifinals
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Spain’s Mikel Merino scored a late goal in the 88th minute on Friday to help his team defeat Belgium and reach the World Cup semifinals.

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Spain will now play against France in Dallas on Tuesday for a place in the World Cup final.

Both of Spain's goals came from rebounds. Fabián Ruiz scored the first goal in the 30th minute after Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois could not hold onto the ball.

Courtois had to leave the game in the 73rd minute due to an injury. He was replaced by goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who immediately faced a strong Spanish attack. Spain dominated the game with 16 shots on goal, while Belgium had only five.

In the 88th minute, Lammens saved a shot from Pau Cubarsi, but Merino quickly kicked the rebound into the net for the winning goal. This was Merino's second late winning goal in a row, after scoring a similar winner against Portugal four days ago.

Spain coach Luis de la Fuente expressed his happiness about the victory but remained highly focused during the post-match press conference.

"Let me be clear we are not finished," de la Fuente said, through a translator. "… We are here for more."

Spain will face France in the semifinal, who have been one of the strongest teams in the tournament so far.

"The game will be very demanding, it will be energetic," de la Fuente said. "We’ll need the best version of ourselves."

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