INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Spain hasn’t conceded a single goal at this year’s World Cup, and La Roja is unbeaten in 36 straight competitive matches since March 2023.
This lofty standard of play clearly doesn’t scare Belgium, which is on a surging trajectory of its own heading into their all-European quarterfinal Friday.
While Spain has been that continent’s most consistent winner for the past 3 1/2 years, Belgium has played its way into position for what could be the final chance for its full golden generation of men’s soccer players to do something spectacular together.
“Everyone is already talking about us going home, but we believe we can do it,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said through an interpreter Thursday. “We believe we can pull off an upset, and we will do everything we can to get to the semis.”
The tantalizing clash at SoFi Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Chargers and Rams, matches a pre-tournament favorite and the reigning European champion against Belgium, which has never quite reached its potential despite the big-money stars across its roster.
Yet goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said Belgium realizes the opportunity it has after blowing out the co-host United States 4-1 on Monday in its best performance of the tournament while extending the Red Devils’ own unbeaten streak to 18 matches across all competitions.
“I think they’re one of the favorites to win it, so obviously we start as the underdog against them,” said Courtois, who has played professionally for Real Madrid in Spain’s top-level La Liga since 2018. “But in football, everything is possible, and I believe that we can win, with all respect. But obviously they are the favorite.”
Garcia and veteran striker Romelu Lukaku said they weren’t worried about their gleeful celebrations of their last victory turning the Los Angeles-area crowd against them.
“I think (before) the past several days, we had 12 million Belgium fans, and now I think we’ve got millions and millions that have joined our ranks across the globe,” Garcia said. “I don’t know what it will be like tomorrow, but it’s not the crowd that scores the goals. It’s not the fans that score the goals. We’re going to focus on what we can do.”
While Spain has struggled to score occasionally over the past month, its defense has remained perfect, with Rodri orchestrating the effort superbly from midfield. Goalkeeper Unai Simón has played a World Cup-record 609 consecutive minutes without conceding, racking up another World Cup record of six straight shutouts dating to the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
Simón has only had to make six saves in five World Cup matches this year, but Belgium has enough offensive talent to make any goalkeeper work — including Kevin De Bruyne, Youri Tielemans, playmaker Leandro Trossard and Charles De Ketelaere, who had two goals against the Americans at Seattle’s Lumen Field.
Lukaku likened the feeling of this match to the Red Devils’ meeting with Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals eight years ago in Russia — a game his team won 2-1 in stunning fashion.
“Tomorrow we need to play the perfect game if we want to proceed,” said Lukaku, Belgium’s career goals leader. “Spain is an excellent team. They’ve been playing the same type of football since 2008. They’re well prepared, but we have certain assets that can make life difficult for them. We love the challenge.”
Despite a wealth of good players around teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, Spain hasn’t scored with as much flair as Belgium in this tournament, getting seven of its nine goals at the World Cup in two routs of overmatched Saudi Arabia and Austria. La Roja managed only Mikel Merino’s clutch injury-time goal while beating Portugal 1-0 in the round of 16 on Monday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
“Ultimately we have been very focused on the defensive aspect, but we’ve also historically scored a lot,” Spain coach Luis De La Fuente said Thursday. “I think we have the most attempts on goal (in this World Cup). Perhaps a little bit more efficacy and we might also be the squad that scores the most, but we’re so good on the attack that it gives the opponent little opportunity to come the other way.”
Veteran striker Mikel Oyarzabal scored two goals in Spain’s first appearance at SoFi Stadium last week, leading La Roja to a 3-0 rout of Austria.
“I think we’ve managed to build a really solid core group,” Oyarzabal said. “Regardless of whether things go well or badly, or who’s playing, the team responds, and I think that’s crucial. We’ve achieved something very difficult creating that kind of unity within the national team.”
Belgium has been to the World Cup quarterfinals more recently than Spain. The veteran Belgian stars were youngsters eight years ago when the Red Devils made the semifinals in Russia; until this year, Spain hadn’t won a knockout match since winning its lone World Cup title in 2010.
Yamal still hasn’t broken out in his first World Cup, scoring only one goal for Spain. His teammates and coaches say they’re quite satisfied with his overall tournament performance, which began with limited playing time in the group matches while he returned from a hamstring injury incurred in April with Barcelona.
“Maybe he hasn’t contributed goals, but he brings all the attack,” midfielder Gavi said. “He’s incredible. I hope that now if we win, hopefully in the semifinals or the final, too, if we win, then he scores goals so people understand what he does for us.”
De La Fuente praised Yamal, who turns 19 on Monday, for an excellent two-way performance against Portugal. The coach even credited Yamal for the fact that Nuno Mendes, who was attempting to mark Yamal, had to leave early in the second half with an injury.
“He’s very motivated,” De La Fuente said. “… Wants to do so much, and we know the best version of him, the attacking Lamine, is something we haven’t seen yet in this World Cup. He had to work on the defensive side quite a bit because we were facing a powerhouse of a rival. I think this was an exercise in maturity for Lamine. He’s going to perform on the attacking front, that’s clear. He’s got incredible potential, and it’s going to come.”
Belgium lost midfielder Amadou Onana to a knee injury this week, forcing a tactical change to preserve its defensive structure. That change might simply be the return of De Bruyne, who didn’t play against the U.S. — likely to keep him in top condition for Friday’s match. Meanwhile, wing Jérémy Doku is thought to be healthy now, but he hasn’t consistently played well at the World Cup.
Nico Williams is expected to be fully available for Spain after being limited earlier in the World Cup, and La Roja otherwise appears to be in good health.