Merino's 88th-minute header sends Spain past Belgium and into a World Cup semi-final

Mikel Merino headed Spain into the World Cup semi-finals in the 88th minute on Friday, punishing a clearance error from Belgium substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens to settle a quarter-final that Luis de la Fuente's side had spent the better part of an hour trying to unlock. France 24 and BBC Sport both reported the final score at 2-1, with Fabian Ruiz having opened the scoring before Belgium equalised and the match drifted towards the possibility of extra time in the second half. Spain now advance to a semi-final in a tournament in which, for all the pre-game billing around Lamine Yamal, the goals have been arriving through gritted teeth rather than free-flowing attacking play.

Spain reached the last four by doing what Spain has spent a decade doing: winning ugly, winning late, and leaning on a collective structure rather than a single match-winner. The team's progression through the knockout rounds has exposed a paradox at the heart of De la Fuente's project. La Roja boast one of the most talented attacking generations the country has produced, yet they have needed a midfielder best known for his aerial presence to provide the decisive moment against Belgium. The tension between squad depth and attacking fluency is now the central question for the remainder of the tournament.

The game turned on a substitute

Belgium's evening was defined by the choice to send on Lammens, the 23-year-old Royal Antwerp goalkeeper, and the chaos that followed within minutes. According to BBC Sport's minute-by-minute account, Merino pounced after Lammens miscued a clearance under pressure, allowing the Arsenal midfielder to head into an unguarded net from close range. ESPN's report framed the winner in similar terms: a team built around Yamal had needed a midfielder, not a forward, to provide the decisive touch. For Belgium, the substitution was a gamble on fresh legs that backfired within a single attacking sequence; for Spain, it was the latest in a string of late interventions that have become a hallmark of this tournament run.

The opening goal had arrived through Ruiz, whose finish rewarded sustained Spanish pressure in the first half. Belgium's equaliser came against the run of play but held firm for long enough that, by the 80th minute, extra time looked the likeliest outcome. Spain's bench, including Merino, was introduced with the explicit instruction to change that equation. The late header did.

What Yamal tells us — and what he does not

ESPN's pre-match analysis had framed the quarter-final as a referendum on whether Spain could generate goals around Yamal rather than through him. The 17-year-old continues to draw attention for his ball-carrying and chance creation, but the underlying numbers tell a more complicated story: Spain's attacking returns have not matched the hype. Belgium, by contrast, arrived as a side whose defensive shape had been the foundation of their tournament, and they largely delivered on that brief until the 88th minute. The match was, in effect, a draw between two well-coached sides — decided only when a substitute goalkeeper's error handed Spain a chance they had largely failed to manufacture through open play.

For De la Fuente, the immediate question is whether the team can locate a more reliable source of goals before the semi-final. Merino's header bought another game, not a pattern.

De la Fuente's project, ten years on

The deeper story is structural rather than tactical. BBC Sport's Guillem Balague profile of the Spain head coach, published on the morning of the quarter-final, traced the cultural and tactical identity De la Fuente has tried to build since taking the senior job: positional play, control of territory, and the deliberate integration of young players from Spain's age-group sides. That project has produced results — Spain reached the latter stages of recent tournaments and have now matched that achievement on the biggest stage. It has also produced a side that, when opponents sit deep and deny central progression, can look short of a plan B. Belgium's equaliser came precisely from the kind of transitional moment that rewards defensive discipline over attacking flair.

The selection dilemma De la Fuente now faces is the same one his predecessors confronted: how to balance the patient, possession-based identity against the need for a more direct outlet when matches tighten. Merino's cameo suggested he has at least one such option in reserve.

The semi-final, and what remains uncertain

Spain's progression leaves two questions hanging over the remainder of the tournament. The first is personnel: whether Yamal, who drew fouls and created chances without scoring, can elevate his output to match the moment. The second is tactical: whether De la Fuente will adjust his structure to give the forward line more central penetration, or continue to trust that late interventions from midfield will paper over the gaps.

What the sources do not specify is the identity of Spain's semi-final opponent, the date of the fixture, or the venue. The next forty-eight hours of the tournament calendar will resolve those details. For now, Spain have done what elite sides at World Cups so often do: win without convincing, advance without persuading, and leave the harder arguments for the next round.

This article draws on wire reporting from BBC Sport, ESPN and France 24 published on 10 July 2026; Monexus has framed the quarter-final around the tension between Spain's collective structure and the attacking returns expected from a generation built around Lamine Yamal.