In the World Cup quarterfinal, the Spanish national team defeated Belgium 2-1 to secure a spot in the tournament's semifinals. The match was held in Inglewood, California, USA.
For Spain, Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring in the 30th minute, while Mikel Merino scored the winning goal in the 88th minute. Belgium's only goal was scored by Charles De Ketelaere in the 41st minute.
This was the first goal conceded by the Spanish national team in this World Cup. Thus, the streak of goalkeeper Unai Simón keeping his goal untouched for 649 minutes in World Cup competitions also came to an end.
In the 71st minute of the match, Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois left the field due to injury. He was replaced by Senne Lammens.
Mikel Merino came off the bench for the second consecutive match and scored the goal that brought victory to his team. He had also scored the only goal in the previous round of 16 match against Portugal.
Now Spain will face the French national team in the semifinals. The match will take place on July 14.
