Cubars\u00ed goes into the book for tugging on De Bruyne\u2019s shorts while on the ground, hanging on for dear life almost \u2013 Cubars\u00ed and the shorts.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.44 EDT<\/p>\n GOAL! Spain 1-1 Belgium (De Ketelaere 41)<\/p>\n Spain\u2019s defence is breached for the first time at this World Cup! After Yamal hits the side-netting, Castagne gets the ball on the right at the other end, sends in a really inviting cross and De Ketelaere beats Cubars\u00ed to it to head it past Sim\u00f3n!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 39 min Some frankly ridiculous one-touch passing from Spain<\/a> in the final third ends with Oyarzabal trying to backheel the ball into Olmo\u2019s path on the edge of the box. It\u2019s snuffed out by that was nice, very nice.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 37 min Baena tries to bring down a long ball over the Belgium<\/a> defence but does so with his arm. The subsequent shot, saved by Courtois at his near post, matters not at all. It\u2019s a free-kick.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 36 min Baena dummies the free-kick and it\u2019s Yamal who strikes it, low to the keeper\u2019s side. Courtois gets down to save but pushes it back into the box. When Spain<\/a> work the following corner across the edge of the area, Olmo runs straight into Michael Oliver, who looks very embarrassed indeed.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 34 min Yamal teases De Cuyper and Doku, trying to draw a challenge as he sneaks into the area. The ball is recycled and a deeper Yamal skips past Doku again, this time winning a free-kick on the edge of the box in a very inviting position.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 32 min The game is stopped as Castagne catches one in the face, I think off Cucurella who was challenging an aerial ball with Vanaken. There\u2019s blood \u2013 he\u2019ll probably have to change his shirt. The game goes on without him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>GOAL! Spain 1-0 Belgium (Ruiz 30)<\/p>\n Fabi\u00e1n Ruiz, the man who came into the side today, gives Spain<\/a> the lead! Porro plays a one-two with Yamal, sends a low ball into the box that Olmo strikes first-time. Courtois gets down well to stop it but Ruiz is there to scramble it home.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 28 min It\u2019s a scrappy restart to the game as Doku and De Bruyne threaten to combine down the Belgium<\/a> left until Porro intervenes. Yamal uses the outside of his boot to stick a ball into the box \u2026 and into the gloves of Courtois.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n After a bit of Shakira blasted over the loudspeakers, we are back under way.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> More from Jeff live from the Los Angeles Stadium press box \u2026<\/p>\n True to the custom of this World Cup-gone-Hollywood, the big screens have cycled through a handful of big names already. Javier Bardem is a real crowd-pleaser, trying to rile up the Spanish faithful. Brad Pitt and Noel Gallagher were a bit more demure, though Gallagher\u2019s son snuck a flip of the bird in. Widespread approval of Issa Rae in a Coca-Cola adidas kit.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 23 min Raskin misplaces another pass out of play and Michael Oliver sends the players off for a drink.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 22 min Yamal has the first real attempt at goal, and in typical fashion. He jinks on to his left on the edge of the box and curls a shot wide of the far post. Porro, annoyingly, has his shoelaces untied as he takes a throw. Somebody tell him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 20 min Sim\u00f3n draws some gasps from the crowd as he waits until the last second before releasing the ball up against a pressing Vanaken. Porro brings it forward down the right but Yamal slips as he approaches the centred ball and fouls a Belgium<\/a> defender in the process.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 18 min Some space opens up for Spain but Porro sprays his crossfield ball just out of Baena\u2019s reach and out for a goal-kick. Belgium<\/a> are picking their moments to come forward and De Cuyper is pulled up for a foul on Porro at the back post as he tries to reach a cross.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 16 min Doku gives Spain<\/a> something to think about, shaking off Cubars\u00ed and Porro before offloading the ball to De Ketelaere, whose shot is blocked.<\/p>\n Yamal gets the crowd similarly excited with a smart turn on the touchline to set Spain up for an attack that ends with Olmo failing to get the ball out of his feet to shoot inside the box.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 14 min Cubars\u00ed spots a gap in the Belgium<\/a> defence and Baena runs on to his pass. The offside flag goes up as Baena scoops the ball into Ngoy and appeals for handball. That will have worried Rudi Garcia somewhat.<\/p>\n Share<\/a> Jeff was doing some roaming outside the ground before kick-off \u2026<\/p>\n The couple dozen Belgium<\/a> fans I spoke with outside of Los Angeles Stadium spared me their versions of the Trump dance, but spoke with a sense of relief that they\u2019d made it this far. Lots of pride that the turnover from the golden generation to whatever is to follow was so positive at this tournament, and emboldened by the returns of Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku to the lineup.<\/p>\n Then again, none stuck their necks out so far to say that they\u2019d beat Spain<\/a> today. The closest I got was a handful of remarks to the tune of \u201cthey won\u2019t find us easy\u201d. Free of pressure, at a minimum.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 10 min Yamal drifts to the left wing and chases a ball down the side towards the corner flag. Trossard brings him down but escapes a yellow. The free-kick eventually falls to Rodri who spanks it towards goal \u2013 blocked by Ngoy.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 8 min De Cuyper gets his first look at Yamal, booting the ball out for a throw-in after the teenager miscontrols a switch from Rodri. On the ball, De Cuyper is getting a lot of support from De Bruyne and Doku \u2013 Belgium<\/a> may sense a weakness down Yamal\u2019s side defensively.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min Doku wriggles through Porro and Olmo and spurs Belgium<\/a> into action. De Bruyne and co don\u2019t get much further than halfway before Spain win it back.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min Courtois punts a long kick out for a throw that Cucurella takes in his own half. Olmo turns away from his man beautifully on halfway and sets up an attack that Mechele is able to clear.<\/p>\n \u201cInterestingly, that painting by Magritte is in the Reina Sofia,\u201d points out Tom Schumacher.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.05 EDT<\/p>\n 2 min Belgium<\/a> stifle Spain deep in the opposing half. Lamine Yamal tests their resolve and breaks through the press by going past a player or two and winning a foul.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.03 EDT<\/p>\n Kick-off<\/p>\n After a moment of silence for the victims of the wildfires in Spain, Michael Oliver blows his whistle and Belgium<\/a> get us under way.<\/p>\n Respects are paid to the victims of the wildfires in Spain. Photograph: Scott Strazzante\/EPAShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.11 EDT<\/p>\n Tielemans injured in warm-up<\/p>\n Hans Vanaken has taken his place in the Belgium<\/a> XI in place of Youri Tielemans, who has tweaked his hamstring in the warm-up.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.00 EDT<\/p>\n We\u2019ve had the anthems \u2013 the camera had to tip up to new angles to get Thibaut Courtois\u2019 head in shot \u2013 and that weird Bocelli DJ song \u2026 kick-off is upon us.<\/p>\n Thibaut Courtois (second left) sings the Belgian national anthem alongside Kevin De Bruyne (left), Brandon Mechele (second right) and Maxim De Cuyper. Photograph: Hannah McKay\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.10 EDT<\/p>\n Out of the tunnel emerge Spain, in red, and Belgium<\/a>, again in their light blue-pink-white number inspired by Ren\u00e9 Magritte\u2019s artwork. Grelots roses, ciels en lambeux \u2013 look it up and it\u2019ll make a bit more sense.<\/p>\n The stage is set. Photograph: Carlos Barr\u00eda\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.01 EDT<\/p>\n Sid sends in a climate update from Los Angeles Stadium \u2026<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite hot under the roof because the sun is coming through and creating a greenhouse effect, so I am now sitting on the floor on the concourse below cooling down and letting my laptop cool down too, with thousands of people walking past.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a lovely breeze down here, coming in the side of the stadium. Pity I can\u2019t see the pitch from here or I might stay \u2013 back into the heat soon. (That said, this isn\u2019t Dallas).<\/p>\n It\u2019s lively but I wouldn\u2019t call it atmosphere as such. Music and announcers but not fan noise really … nice sense of occasion, though.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHave Spain<\/a> been slipping back into their boring mode where they seem to keep possession just for the sake of it, like they did following their second Euro championship win (and wasn\u2019t tiki taka originally criticised as a negative, defensive tactic, i think by Clemente)?\u201d writes David Wall.<\/p>\n \u201cThe addition of exciting wingers like Williams and Yamal provided a contrast in the last Euros, which was probably what made them so effective and exciting to watch, that they could attack in different ways. But with the wide players either injured or coming back from injury at the moment that variation seems to have been much reduced. If they can\u2019t find it again do you think they can win the tournament? and would you want them to if they win it in a really sterile way?\u201d<\/p>\n It does feel a bit familiar, doesn\u2019t it? But Luis de la Fuente seems a little bit shackled by the fact that Nico Williams clearly isn\u2019t fit and there have been doubts over Lamine Yamal too. He clearly doesn\u2019t feel Victor Mu\u00f1oz (a rapid winger) is ready and is having second thoughts about Ferran Torres (a quick striker) too. They\u2019ve also not played any team that is going to come at them \u2013 Portugal might have done without a 41-year-old up front \u2013 so it makes sense so far. Maybe dropping Pedri for Fabi\u00e1n Ruiz is an admission that he wants to mix it up a bit today.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Matias Fernandez-Pardo is the Spanish name in the Belgium<\/a> squad. The forward grew up in Belgium with a Spanish father and Italian mother \u2013 just two years ago he said he was \u201cabsolutely sure\u201d he wanted to play for Spain at international level. The 21-year-old\u2019s main asset is his pace and he can play off the wing or as a central striker. He came off the bench in each of Belgium\u2019s group games.<\/p>\n Matias Fernandez-Pardo profile<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Speaking of Belgium<\/a>, their manager Rudi Garcia has been talking about \u201cmillions and millions\u201d more people backing his team after the whole Balogun business in the last round.<\/p>\n double quotation markThe conditions will only be as difficult as they were in the round of 16. We had 12 million Belgium fans and now, over the last few days, I think we have millions and millions behind us; they have joined our ranks and I think that will be great. I think that will give us incredible strength. I don\u2019t know what [the atmosphere] will be like in the stadium but we will concentrate on what we have to do. We have enough on our plate with the Spanish squad.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI did my year abroad in Belgium<\/a> and Germany in 2015\/16, and my university in Germany had a big screen outside the canteen showing the Euros games,\u201d writes Harry Desmond. \u201cI have a vivid memory of being vastly outnumbered by Italy supporters during Belgium\u2019s opening match. Since then, Les Diables Rouges have always been my favourites for tournaments after the UK teams.<\/p>\n \u201cOther memories from that tournament included having to walk 3 miles home after Germany\u2019s semi-final because the trams were too full, and cheering on Portugal in the final along with my Portuguese friends. It will probably always be my favourite football tournament, the communal\/international experience is really something else.\u201d<\/p>\n My year abroad was in Spain<\/a> 2021-22, so I was denied a summer tournament there with Qatar being later in the year \u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cHola. Any word on Williams, is he fit?\u201d asks Shane Cahill.<\/p>\n Seems not. He played a half of football altogether in the group stage and hasn\u2019t made it off the bench in the knockouts. \u00c1lex Baena has had a good tournament playing on the left in his place and seems to offer Spain<\/a> a bit more control when in possession. Maybe they\u2019re waiting to unleash Williams against France.<\/p>\n Alex Baena profile<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Pau Cubars\u00ed has also made a real difference alongside Aymeric Laporte \u2026<\/p>\n double quotation markCubars\u00ed in particular has been superb. For all the talk of Lamine Yamal, the kid who eclipses all else, it is the other teenager at the other end that has most impressed. Born in tiny Estanyol, a village with a population of around 200, the son of a carpenter who ran a family business going back four generations, Cubars\u00ed is the second youngest man ever to make his debut for Spain. Lamine Yamal is the first. The day Cubars\u00ed made his Barcelona debut, he and Lamine Yamal were younger than Robert Lewandowski put together.<\/p>\n There was something about him that was different from the start. \u201cWhen I watch him, my heart rate doesn\u2019t change,\u201d Barcelona\u2019s then-coach Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez said. De la Fuente had given him his Spain debut and although he decided not to take him to the Euros, judging it a little soon, that calmness is clear here. \u201cIt doesn\u2019t seem like he\u2019s 19, the way he takes on responsibility is enviable,\u201d Sim\u00f3n says. Cubars\u00ed has completed 96% of his 449 passes, and not just sideways: 34 of his 71 against Portugal went into the opposition\u2019s half. There were 19 recoveries, 23 defensive actions completed. Only Paolo Maldini reached as many clean sheets so fast.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Spain have made history in getting so far in a World Cup<\/a> without conceding a goal.<\/p>\n As Sid Lowe says from Los Angeles, Unai Sim\u00f3n has had to fend off some very strong competition to keep the No 1 spot.<\/p>\n double quotation markNot so long ago, Sim\u00f3n admitted that he had once wondered whether it was all worth it. Playing in goal, he says, can be a bit \u201cthankless\u201d. The front pages are for others. The good ones are, anyway: the \u201cnoise\u201d was his. All year, he has been at the centre of the debate. How could he not be when Athletic Club were struggling and those competing with him are David Raya, the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, and Joan Garc\u00eda, the best in La Liga? \u201cSod it, I\u2019ll say it: we have the best goalkeepers at the World Cup,\u201d Sim\u00f3n insisted a few days ago.<\/p>\n For Luis de la Fuente, though, it was never a debate, however insistent the noise got. He had coached Sim\u00f3n all the way through the youth teams, winning it all: the under-19 and under-21 Euros, Olympic silver, the Nations League, Euro 2024. They were practically family and now look: now Spain feel like Spain again and Sim\u00f3n has made history. No other country has ever reached the sixth game of a men\u2019s World Cup without conceding.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Starting lineups: De Bruyne and Doku return for Belgium<\/p>\n Spain make one change to the team that beat Portugal, with Fabi\u00e1n Ruiz coming in for Pedri in midfield. Kevin De Bruyne returns to the XI for Belgium<\/a> after watching the win over the USA from the bench \u2013 he replaces Amadou Onana, who ruptured his ACL in that match. J\u00e9r\u00e9my Doku is also back in from the start in place of Dodi Luk\u00e9bakio.<\/p>\n Spain (4-2-3-1): Sim\u00f3n; Porro, Cubars\u00ed, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Ruiz; Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal. Belgium (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper; Tielemans, Raskin; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere. Referee: Michael Oliver (England)<\/p>\n Jeremy Doku starts for Belgium in LA this afternoon. Photograph: Carl Recine\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.45 EDT<\/p>\n An early dip into the mailbag \u2026<\/p>\n \u201cI hope the Belgians have been practicing their Trumpian tiny-fist dance since that USA game. It was the only disappointing aspect of an otherwise convincing performance. As for the Spanish, a red muleta celebration would be a fun provocation to the bull currently threatening to end all trade with them. He still might find himself handing them a big chuck of gold in nine days time\u201d \u2013 Justin Kavanagh<\/p>\n \u201cGood morning it\u2019s 1:25 and I\u2019m desperately trying to stay awake for the match. Shades of Qatar where the old sleep schedule went down the pan. I for one am hoping for a Belgium<\/a> win. I have not enjoyed any of the Spain matches (apart from Cape Verde, snigger). I\u2019m Costa Rican so I have no skin in the game as they say but I do have Norway in the sweepstakes. Thanks as always for the the great commentary and for so far keeping me awake!\u201d \u2013 Alexandra Fullerton<\/p>\n I saw off my own sweepstake team by doing the minute-by-minute for Colombia 0-0 Switzerland (3-4 pens) the other day. I think I kept it together pretty well.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Spain and Belgium<\/a> today meet for the first time in a decade \u2013 which is pretty impressive considering the invention of the Nations League. They last played in a friendly in September 2016, with Julen Lopetegui and Roberto Mart\u00ednez taking charge of their respective teams for the first time. Belgium were booed off in Brussels as David Silva\u2019s double earned Spain a 2-0 win.<\/p>\n The last time these two faced each other in a major tournament was Italia 90<\/a> \u2013 Alberto G\u00f3rriz bagged the winner in Verona to send Spain through as group winners. Their only previous World Cup meeting was the quarter-final four years before<\/a> that saw Belgium win on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Puebla.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a013.33 EDT<\/p>\n Starting lineups are coming up shortly but Belgium\u2019s preparations have involved a dispute with Sporting over the fitness of Zeno Debast. The centre-back was on the bench for the first time this World Cup<\/a> against the USA after missing the start of the tournament with an injury. His club maintain that he is not fit to play and the Belgian FA said \u201cthis assessment differs from that of the Red Devils\u2019 medical staff\u201d. Belgium appear to have bowed to Sporting\u2019s wishes and the FA said he would not play in this quarter-final.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n As mentioned, an ominous France team await the winners of this one after they eased past a pretty meek Morocco in Boston yesterday.<\/p>\n Jonathan Wilson was there:<\/p>\n double quotation markHow can you stop France? You can defend with great organisation and concentration, block and tackle and harry and work, your keeper can make two or three excellent saves, and then one of their forwards conjures a goal like that.<\/p>\n And so was Rapha\u00ebl Jucobin:<\/p>\n double quotation markIn his pre-match press conference, Deschamps conceded that his team could still improve in front of goal. \u201cThe better the quality of the opponent, the more clinical you have to be,\u201d he underlined. As Les Bleus prepare to leave the east coast for the first time since their arrival in the US for their semi-final in Dallas, there is a sense that they will be leaving the comfort zone they have established both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n Hello and welcome to the second quarter-final of the 2026 World Cup<\/a>. After dealing with the USA (and everything else) in the last 16, the last dregs of Belgium\u2019s golden generation must now take on the unmovable object of this tournament. Spain are yet to concede a goal after five matches and have not come this far at the World Cup since they won the damn thing in 2010.<\/p>\n While the World Cup pedigree of Thibaut Courtois, Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku is unquestionable \u2013 they beat Brazil in their last quarter-final \u2013 we are still yet to see Lamine Yamal\u2019s real arrival on this stage. The Barcelona winger, who turns 19 on Monday, has registered a single goal and no assists at these finals and is perhaps the only world superstar yet to make his mark. Could today be his day?<\/p>\n The winner of this one will play France (good luck) in the semis next Tuesday in Dallas.<\/p>\n Kick-off in Los Angeles is midday local time, 8pm BST and 5am AEST. Feel free to get in touch with me via email<\/a>. Let\u2019s go.<\/p>\n![\"Jeff](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/uploads\/2026\/05\/27\/Jeff_Rueter,_L.png?width=300&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=c2de07b50766ecdff4f878e1a68d2553\")
Jeff Rueter<\/p>\nJeff Rueter<\/p>\n![\"Sid](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Sid_Lowe,_L.png\")
Sid Lowe<\/p>\n
Subs: Raya, J Garc\u00eda, Pubill, Grimaldo, E Garc\u00eda, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Mu\u00f1oz, Iglesias, Pedri.<\/p>\n
Subs: Lammens, Penders, Theate, Witsel, Lukaku, Luk\u00e9bakio, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Moreira, Vanaken, Saelemaekers, Fernandez-Pardo.<\/p>\n