7M - Spain 2-1 Belgium: Spain leave it late to edge past Belgium and book World Cup semi-final clash with France

Spain secured their place in the World Cup semi-finals on Friday night with a dramatic late victory over Belgium, setting up a mouth-watering last-four showdown with France.

The decisive goal came after a slick move down the right flank. Lamine Yamal picked out Pedro Porro, whose low cross found Dani Olmo. The RB Leipzig man's initial effort was parried by Thibaut Courtois, but the ball spilled kindly for Fabián Ruiz, who tapped home from close range to break Belgian hearts.

For Yamal, it was his sixth appearance of the tournament, a record for any player aged 18 or under in World Cup history.

Spain had dominated large swathes of the first half, but Belgium drew level just before the interval against the run of play. Timothy Castagne delivered a pinpoint cross from the right, and Charles De Ketelaere rose to steer a glancing header past Unai Simón.

That strike was the first goal Spain had conceded all summer, bringing an end to a remarkable 650-minute World Cup clean sheet streak that dated back to 2022, when Japan's Ao Tanaka scored against them in the group stage in Qatar.

Spain continued to control possession after the break, but Belgium remained a threat on the counter. Jérémy Doku and Kevin De Bruyne combined neatly on several occasions, linking up with clever one-touch football that nearly produced a second Belgian goal.

However, Belgium's hopes suffered a major blow in the 71st minute when Courtois was forced off. The goalkeeper had been slow to get up after making a clearance and received treatment on the pitch. He initially appeared ready to continue, but was eventually replaced by Lammens moments later.

It was not the first injury setback for the Belgians on the night. Captain Youri Tielemans had already been ruled out of the starting line-up before kick-off after picking up a problem during the warm-up.

Tielemans had been instrumental in Belgium's run to the quarter-finals, having started every group-stage match and bagged a brace in their thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Senegal in the Round of 32.