Spain’s Mikel Merino scored the go-ahead goal in the 88th minute Friday to beat Belgium and push Spain into a World Cup semifinal.
Spain is set to face France in Dallas on Tuesday with a shot at the World Cup final on the line.
Both of Spain’s goals were scored after its initial shot was saved, only for the deflection to bounce toward a Spanish player who did not miss a second time.
Fabián Ruiz opened the scoring in the 30th minute when Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois couldn’t control the rebound of the initial save.
When Courtois left the match due to an apparent injury in the 73rd minute, Belgium replaced him with Senne Lammens, who immediately stepped in to stop a Spanish attack that continued to pepper Belgium with shots and attacks; Spain finished with 16 shot attempts on goal, to Belgium’s five.
When Lammens stopped a shot in the 88th minute by Pau Cubarsi, Merino got to the ball fast enough to get his boot on the ball to create the go-ahead goal. It was his second consecutive game-winner for Spain after coming on late as a substitute, after beating Portugal in the same fashion four days earlier.