Spain vs Belgium
Competition/Round: 2026 World Cup, Quarter-Finals
Spain Outs & Doubts: Yeremi Pino, Nico Williams, Victor Muñoz (doubt)
Belgium Outs & Doubts: Zeno Debast, Amadou Onana (out)
Date/Time: Friday, July 10, 2026, 3pm ET, 12pm PT (USA), 9pm CET (Barcelona), 8pm BST/WAT (UK & Nigeria), 12.30am IST (India, Saturday)
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles, United States
Referee: Michael Oliver (ENG)
How to watch on TV: FOX (USA), BBC One (UK), United8 Sports 1 (India), SuperSport (Nigeria), TVE La 1 (Spain), others
How to watch online: FuboTV (USA), BBC iPlayer (UK), ZEE5 (India), DAZN (Spain), others
Following a hard-fought victory over Iberian rivals Portugal on Monday, Spain return to action for a huge World Cup quarter-final clash against Belgium in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.
La Roja come into this one looking to reach the semi-finals and meet Kylian Mbappé’s France in what could be one of the most epic Final Four matches in World Cup history, but they first need to get past a Belgium side that somehow, someway reached the quarter-final stage despite an incredibly inconsistent tournament.
After two draws in the first two games against Iran and Egypt that required a big win in the group finale to advance to the knockouts, the Belgians were all but eliminated against Senegal before a remarkable comeback in the final 10 minutes of regulation completed by a 125th minute winner in extra-time to secure a spot in the next round.
Belgium then faced the United States and all of the controversy that surrounded the game in the Round of 16, and showed remarkable poise and mental strength to not only win but dominate the hosts and move on to the quarter-finals.
The remarkable comeback against Senegal and the dominant win over the USA had one thing in common: Kevin De Bruyne was not on the pitch. His World Cup has been very poor so far, and the team has looked more compact and athletic without its best playmaker who is clearly not fully fit after an injury-riddled season at club level.
It’s very hard to think De Bruyne won’t be involved against Spain, however, which makes it impossible to know which version of Belgium will show up in Los Angeles. If it’s the one that destroyed the US, then Spain must be ready for a very tough battle. If it’s the one that struggled mightily with De Bruyne on the pitch, this could be much easier for La Roja.
This is a fascinating clash, one that Spain will be favorites to win as the world awaits a spectacle against France. But Belgium are too talented to be taken for granted, and this should be a fun one in Hollywood.
Let’s dance.
(Be careful, Lamine.)
POSSIBLE LINEUPS
Spain (4-2-3-1): Simón; Porro, Cubarsí, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal
Belgium (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper; Vanaken, Tielemans; Trossard, De Bruyne, Doku; De Ketelaere
PREDICTION
Belgium have been at their best without De Bruyne, but there’s no way he won’t be on the pitch on Friday. It’s hard to predict which Belgium will show up, but I’m betting on Spain anyway: 2-1 to La Roja.
