We’re reaching the business end of the World Cup as one Spain take on Belgium in the quarterfinals. While Spain are the top favorite to win the entire tournament, Rudi Garcia has turned around a Belgian side that struggled to begin the tournament and has them with a chance to move on. After getting past Senegal and the United States in the knockouts, the Red Devils have been tested, but it’s nothing like what will be coming their way as Spain look to dominate the ball and the game.Rudi Garcia made the bold call to bench Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku against the United States, and it’s one that worked out, although he will now be without Amadou Onana, who picked up an injury in the match. Spain will have their own injury issues with Nico Williams being unavailable, but they have such a deep squad that they’ll still have plenty to choose from in the clash.The winner of this match will advance to face France in Dallas on July 14, so let’s take a look at both sides and predict a winner.How to watch Spain vs. BelgiumDate: Friday, July 10 | Time: 3 p.m. ETLocation: SoFi Stadium — Inglewood, Calif.TV: Fox (Eng), Telemundo (Spa) | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
Odds: Spain -163; Draw +300; Belgium +450
The last meeting
Surprisingly, despite both being UEFA nations, Belgium and Spain haven’t met in a game since 2016. Belgium lost that game 2-0, but three players who featured for the Red Devils will be expected to be involved in this match, as Thibaut Courtois, Romelu Lukaku, and Kevin De Bruyne were all involved a decade ago. On the Spanish side, no one who featured is even in this World Cup squad, a show of how quickly things can change in international soccer.
How they got here
These teams couldn’t have had more different paths to this point in the World Cup. While Belgium won Group G with five points, they took a roundabout way to get there, drawing their matches against Egypt and Iran before needing a big showing on the final day of the group stage, facing New Zealand. They got just that to move to the round of 32, where another tough match awaited them. Belgium faced Senegal, falling behind 2-0 in only 51 minutes of play at a time when it looked like all would be lost before Romelu Lukaku and Youri Tielemans scored in the 86th and 89th minutes to send the game into extra time. From there, Tielemans was able to score again via a penalty given in the 125th minute of play, sending the Red Devils through to face the United States. In the round of 16, it looked like a different Belgium side as they dominated possession and put the game out of reach for the USMNT quickly.
Spain kicked things off by struggling to score past World Cup goalkeeper sensation Vozinha in a shock draw with Cabo Verde, but that was the end of their struggles. It’s the one match during the World Cup that Lamine Yamal didn’t start, and his presence in the XI has made a significant impact, although their driving force has been Mikel Oyarzabal’s four goals during the World Cup. He scored a brace against Saudi Arabia before Spain defeated Uruguay 1-0, and then followed it up with another in the round of 32, where Austria couldn’t do anything to trouble them. Even facing Portugal’s talented midfield, Spain’s control in possession took the sting out of the game, leading to a routine 1-0 win. During the World Cup, Unai Simone hasn’t allowed a single goal as his record shutout streak has now been extended to 609 minutes. This has been going on since the round of 16 in 2022 and has now continued for six more matches, as Belgium will be up against it trying to score on Spain in the match.
Time for Yamal’s World Cup breakout?
Coming into the World Cup with an injury, there was concern about how much Lamine Yamal would be able to play, and while he has gotten back to full fitness, he has yet to have his breakout moment during this World Cup, with only one goal against Saudi Arabia. As matches get tighter, Spain will need more out of Yamal, especially without Nico Williams. With Pedri and Rodri running the pivot in midfield, the squad is extremely balanced, but Yamal is what takes them from being a good team into being true contenders for the World Cup title.
Rudi Garcia has excelled at making the tough decisions needed to get the most out of his Belgium squad. Being able to rest De Bruyne against the United States will go a long way to ensure that Belgium is fresh and ready for this game, as the amount of rest time that teams have decreases. But even with that rest, Belgium will be reliant on Courtois, as this is a side that will give Spain chances to score, if pre-injury Yamal shows up, that’s when this could get out of hand.
Spain vs. Belgium predicted starting lineups
Spain predicted XI: Unai Simon, Marc Cucurella, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Cubarsi, Pedro Porro, Rodri, Pedri, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Alex Baena, Mikel Oyarzabal
Belgium predicted XI: Thibaut Courtois, Maxim De Cuyper, Brandon Mechele, Nathan Ngoy, Timothy Castagne, Youri Tielemans, Hans Vanaken, Leandro Trossard, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Charles De Ketelaere
Spain vs. Belgium pick, prediction
Given Belgium’s talent levels in attack, this is where Simone’s clean sheet streak comes to an end, but he will be okay with that since Spain will emerge with a victory. They can exert so much control over the ball to play matches at their pace, and Belgium won’t have a way to counter it as Yamal grabs a goal and an assist. Score: Spain 3, Belgium 1
Golazo 48 Nations: Follow the World Cup all summer long
Golazo 48 Nations is your all-access destination for the World Cup, with wall-to-wall coverage across the CBS Sports Golazo Network. From the first whistle to the final recap, the entire Golazo crew will guide fans through every moment of the tournament.
Each day begins with Morning Footy, setting the stage with the just in news, storylines, and previews ahead of kickoff. From there, Golazo Matchday and Golazo Matchnight deliver reaction and analysis as the action unfolds. Fans can also tune in for coverage of USMNT matches with the Call It What You Want
team, as well as reaction to other marquee matchups.
The day wraps with Scoreline, a comprehensive nightly recap of every result, moment, and storyline from across the tournament. Altogether, the Golazo Network will deliver up to 12 hours of programming each matchday, available across the Golazo Network and its YouTube channel.
