Spain vs Belgium Prediction, Preview, Team News and Expected Lineups

Spain will take on Belgium in the quarter-finals at the FIFA World Cup 2026. Both sides will aim to book their spot in the semi-finals.

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These two European sides had very different journeys to the quarter-finals. Spain stumbled early with a surprise draw to Cabo Verde, but has been perfect ever since with four back-to-back wins, all without conceding a goal, on its way to the quarterfinals. Belgium’s path has been far bumpier, as they managed just one win in the group stage, then a nail-biting comeback win over Senegal to survive the round of 32.

But Belgium looked like a different team in the round of 16, blowing past the USA 4-1 in a match that generated plenty of controversy off the pitch. They’ll look to carry the momentum if they hope to knock off the reigning European champions, who go in as clear favorites on Friday.

Spain hasn’t always looked their best in the tournament, but their defense has been unbreakable, their midfield full of class, and the brilliance of Lamine Yamal has lifted their attack. That combination could be more than Belgium can handle in Inglewood.

Quick Match details

Tournament: FIFA World Cup 2026
Stage: Quarter-finals
Date: July 10
Kick-off Time: 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. BST & 12:30 a.m. IST (July 11)
Venue: SoFi Stadium, Inglewood, United States

Match Preview and Current Form

Spain

It’s almost exactly 16 years since Spain’s breakthrough triumph in South Africa, and now they are just three wins away from lifting the trophy.

Luis de la Fuente’s side won Group H, cruising past Austria in the round of 16, and then defeating Portugal in the Round of 16 clash. It’s their sixth World Cup quarterfinal appearance. The first four all ended in elimination, before they finally broke through beating Paraguay at this stage on their way to winning it all in 2010.

Defense has been the story of this tournament for Spain. They’re the only team left who hasn’t conceded a single goal, stretching their shutout streak to six straight matches more than 10 hours without letting anyone score. Under De la Fuente, the European champions have won every knockout match they’ve played, six for six, which says a lot about how hard they’ll be to beat.

Spain has won nine of the last eleven meetings with Belgium, a run that dates back to a loss at Euro 1980. That said, these two haven’t played each other in nearly a decade, and their World Cup meetings are tied at one apiece heading into this third clash.

World Cup form: D-W-W-W-W

Belgium

Belgium, meanwhile, made it out of two of their three previous World Cup quarterfinals. In 1986 Belgian squad knocked Spain out at this very stage.

Belgium topped Group G despite some shaky performances, then edged past Senegal 3-2 in the round of 32. With the match heading toward penalties, captain Youri Tielemans scored what’s now the latest goal in World Cup history to send them through and set up a clash with the USA in Seattle.

Coach Rudi Garcia is already under plenty of pressure, he made the bold call to bench Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, and Romelu Lukaku, Belgium’s all-time leading scorer. It paid off in a big way with a 4-1 win, with Charles De Ketelaere scoring twice, Hans Vanaken adding a third, and Lukaku coming off the bench yet again to score, his third straight game doing exactly that.

Not many people saw this coming. After crashing out in the group stage at Qatar 2022, it looked like the end of the road for this so-called golden generation. Instead, they’re unbeaten in 18 matches and still very much alive in the hunt for the World Cup.

World Cup form: D-D-W-W-W

Team News and Injury Updates

Spain

Spain hasn’t changed much since the tournament opener, and don’t expect De la Fuente to shake things up much for this one either.

The main question marks are around the midfield, whether Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, or round-of-16 hero Merino can push their way into the starting XI. Nico Williams looks set for another spell on the bench, still not fully over an adductor issue, but his Euro 2024 partner-in-crime Lamine Yamal will keep his spot out on the right. Up top, Mikel Oyarzabal has been in excellent form for his country lately, scoring 23 goals across his last 17 starts.

Belgium

For Belgium, De Ketelaere looks likely to keep his place as the false nine, with Lukaku, who notched his 93rd international goal last time out, again starting from the bench.

De Bruyne is one to watch. He was dropped for the USMNT game after being subbed off in each of the first four matches, a rare occurrence given he’d previously played 13 straight full World Cup games. He could well be back in the mix here.

There’s also a hole to fill in midfield after Amadou Onana’s brutal ACL injury on Monday ruled him out of the rest of the tournament. Garcia may turn to Vanaken or Nicolas Raskin to fill that gap. At the back, Zeno Debast, once first-choice still hasn’t featured this tournament due to a leg problem, so Belgium’s defense should stay as is.