Spain edge past unlucky Belgium – a blockbuster semifinal awaits!

&ldquo;La Roja&rdquo; lived up to their status as favorites, but not without a struggle, as Belgium put up a spirited fight despite being severely hampered by injuries.In the end, Spain&#39;s superior quality proved decisive, along with a string of misfortunes that plagued the Red Devils before and during the match.Belgium entered the contest seriously weakened. They had already lost Andr&eacute; Onana before kickoff, and just minutes before the opening whistle, captain Youri Tielemans suffered an injury during the warm-up, ruling him out of the match.Spain controlled possession from the outset and dictated the tempo, while Belgium looked to threaten on the counterattack.SofascoreThat approach paid off in the 30th minute when Dani Olmo&#39;s shot was parried by goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, but Fabi&aacute;n Ruiz reacted quickest to the rebound and slotted the ball into the net to give Spain the lead.Belgium, however, refused to give in. Their persistence was rewarded in the 41st minute when Charles De Ketelaere met a cross from the right with a powerful header, beating the Spanish goalkeeper to level the score at 1&ndash;1.It was also the first goal Spain had conceded at World Cups after an impressive streak of 11 hours of football. The second half brought an intense battle and plenty of drama, but Belgium were struck by yet another major setback.In the 72nd minute, Thibaut Courtois was forced off with a muscle injury. Clearly distressed and in tears, he left the pitch and was replaced in goal by young Senne Lammens.The substitute goalkeeper ultimately became the unfortunate figure of the closing stages. In the 88th minute, he failed to hold on to Pau Cubars&iacute;&#39;s powerful long-range effort, spilling the ball straight into the path of Mikel Merino, who tapped home from close range to seal a 2&ndash;1 victory for Spain.Merino was once again Spain&#39;s hero, scoring the decisive goal for the second consecutive match and sending his team into the World Cup semifinals.Spain will now face a blockbuster showdown against France in the semifinals, with the match set to kick off on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m. local time in Dallas.

Spain edge past unlucky Belgium – a blockbuster semifinal awaits!

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