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Spain and Belgium meet in the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday, July 10th, with a place in the semifinals at stake.
Luis de la Fuente's side has continued to impress with disciplined displays in the knockout stage. They beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal 1-0 in the Round of 16 thanks to a very late goal from Mikel Merino.
Belgium, meanwhile, arrives full of confidence after a commanding victory over the United States. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice in a 4-1 victory.
Who will start for Spain? Will Belgium make any changes after its convincing Round of 16 win? The Sporting News looks at the latest projected lineups and team news ahead of Friday's showdown.
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Spain projected starting 11
(4-3-3, right to left): 23. U. Simon — 12. P. Porro, 22. P. Cubarsi, 14. A. Laporte, 24. M. Cucurella — 16. Rodri, 20. Pedri — 19. L. Yamal, 10. D. Olmo, 15. A. Baena — 21. M. Oyarzabal
- Injured: 17. N. Williams (adductor, doubt)
- Suspended: None
- On a yellow card: 7. F. Torres
Luis de la Fuente is expected to name an unchanged side after Merino's dramatic winner against Portugal secured Spain's place in the quarterfinals.
Unai Simon should continue in goal behind Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsi, Aymeric Laporte and Marc Cucurella, with the back four having helped Spain keep a World Cup-record five consecutive clean sheets. Porro appears to be ahead of Marcos Llorente in the right-back pecking order.
Rodri and Pedri are expected to retain their places in midfield, while Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena provide the width either side of Dani Olmo behind Mikel Oyarzabal. Nico Williams is still struggling with an adductor problem and is set to be on the bench again.
Merino is available from the bench once again after his match-winning impact against Portugal.
Belgium projected starting 11
(4-2-3-1, right to left): 1. T. Courtois (GK) — 21. T. Castagne, 4. B. Mechele, 3. A. Theate, 5. M. De Cuyper — 20. H. Vanaken, 23. N. Raskin — 14. D. Lukebakio, 8. Y. Tielemans, 11. J. Doku — 17. C. De Ketelaere
- Injured: 24. A. Onana (knee), 10. L. Trossard (muscle, doubt)
- Suspended: None
- On a yellow card: 4. B. Mechele
Rudi Garcia has one major selection concern ahead of Friday's quarterfinal, with Leandro Trossard facing a race against time to recover after picking up what appeared to be a muscle injury against the United States. Amadou Onana has already been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with a knee injury.
Thibaut Courtois should continue behind Timothy Castagne, Brandon Mechele, Arthur Theate and Maxim De Cuyper. Hans Vanaken will likely replace the injured Onana.
Charles De Ketelaere is expected to lead the attack, with Dodi Lukebakio providing support from the right and Jeremy Doku on the left if Trossard is sidelined. Youri Tielemans' creative midfield role has negated the need to restore Kevin De Bruyne to the XI.
Romelu Lukaku is expected to start on the bench once again, giving Belgium a proven attacking option if Garcia needs to change the game in the second half.
Spain vs. Belgium predictions, betting odds
Belgium produced one of the standout performances of the Round of 16 and have enough attacking quality to trouble any defence left in the tournament. However, Spain have consistently found a way through difficult knockout ties and boast the midfield control needed to limit Belgium's biggest threats. Expect the Red Devils to make this competitive, but Spain should have just enough to book their place in the semifinals.
- Score prediction: Spain 2-1 Belgium
Spain vs. Belgium World Cup rosters
Here are the Spain and Belgium squads for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as confirmed by FIFA before the tournament.
Spain World Cup Squad
MORE: A complete breakdown of Spain's 2026 World Cup squad
Head coach: Luis de la Fuente
| GK | 23 | Unai Simon | Athletic Club (La Liga, Spain) | 28 | 57 |
| GK | 1 | David Raya | Arsenal (Premier League, England) | 30 | 12 |
| GK | 13 | Joan Garcia | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 25 | 1 |
| DEF | 24 | Marc Cucurella | Chelsea (Premier League, England) | 27 | 23 |
| DEF | 3 | Alejandro Grimaldo | Bayer Leverkusen (Bundesliga, Germany) | 30 | 12 |
| DEF | 22 | Pau Cubarsi | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 19 | 11 |
| DEF | 14 | Aymeric Laporte | Athletic Club (La Liga, Spain) | 31 | 44 |
| DEF | 4 | Eric Garcia | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 25 | 19 |
| DEF | 2 | Marc Pubill | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 22 | 0 |
| DEF | 5 | Marcos Llorente | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 31 | 23 |
| DEF | 12 | Pedro Porro | Tottenham (La Liga, Spain) | 26 | 16 |
| MID | 20 | Pedri | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 23 | 40 |
| MID | 8 | Fabian Ruiz | Paris Saint-Germain (Ligue 1, Spain) | 30 | 41 |
| MID | 18 | Martin Zubimendi | Arsenal (Premier League, England) | 27 | 25 |
| MID | 9 | Gavi | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 21 | 28 |
| MID | 16 | Rodri | Manchester City (Premier League, England) | 29 | 61 |
| MID | 15 | Alex Baena | Atletico Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 24 | 15 |
| FWD | 21 | Mikel Oyazarbal | Real Sociedad (La Liga, Spain) | 29 | 52 |
| FWD | 10 | Dani Olmo | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 28 | 48 |
| FWD | 17 | Nico Williams | Athletic Club (La Liga, Spain) | 23 | 30 |
| FWD | 11 | Yeremy Pino | Crystal Palace (Premier League, England) | 23 | 21 |
| FWD | 7 | Ferran Torres | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 26 | 55 |
| FWD | 26 | Borja Iglesias | Celta Vigo (La Liga, Spain) | 33 | 6 |
| FWD | 25 | Victor Munoz | Osasuna (La Liga, Spain) | 22 | 2 |
| FWD | 19 | Lamine Yamal | Barcelona (La Liga, Spain) | 18 | 25 |
Belgium World Cup squad
Head coach: Rudi Garcia
| GK | 1 | Thibaut Courtois | Real Madrid (La Liga, Spain) | 34 | 107 |
| GK | 12 | Senne Lammens | Manchester United (Premier League, England) | 23 | 2 |
| GK | 13 | Mike Penders | Chelsea (Premier League, England) | 20 | 0 |
| DEF | 21 | Timothy Castagne | Fulham (Premier League, England) | 30 | 62 |
| DEF | 2 | Zeno Debast | Sporting CP (Primeira Liga, Portugal) | 22 | 26 |
| DEF | 5 | Maxim De Cuyper | Brighton (Premier League, England) | 25 | 17 |
| DEF | 16 | Koni De Winter | AC Milan (Serie A, Italy) | 23 | 7 |
| DEF | 4 | Brandon Mechele | Club Brugge (Pro League, Belgium) | 33 | 7 |
| DEF | 15 | Thomas Meunier | Lille (Ligue 1, France) | 34 | 78 |
| DEF | 25 | Nathan Ngoy | Lille (Ligue 1, France) | 22 | 2 |
| DEF | 18 | Joaquin Seys | Club Brugge (Pro League, Belgium) | 21 | 4 |
| DEF | 3 | Arthur Theate | Eintracht Frankfurt (Bundesliga, Germany) | 25 | 32 |
| MID | 7 | Kevin De Bruyne | Napoli (Serie A, Italy) | 34 | 117 |
| MID | 24 | Amadou Onana | Aston Villa (Premier League, England) | 24 | 27 |
| MID | 23 | Nicolas Raskin | Rangers (Premiership, Scotland) | 25 | 11 |
| MID | 8 | Youri Tielemans | Aston Villa (Premier League, England) | 29 | 83 |
| MID | 20 | Hans Vanaken | Club Brugge (Pro League, Belgium) | 33 | 32 |
| MID | 6 | Axel Witsel | Girona (Segunda Division, Spain) | 37 | 136 |
| FWD | 17 | Charles De Ketelaere | Atalanta (Serie A, Italy) | 25 | 28 |
| FWD | 11 | Jeremy Doku | Manchester City (Premier League, England) | 23 | 41 |
| FWD | 26 | Matias Fernandez-Pardo | Lille (Ligue 1, France) | 21 | 0 |
| FWD | 9 | Romelu Lukaku | Napoli (Serie A, Italy) | 33 | 124 |
| FWD | 14 | Dodi Lukebakio | Benfica (Primeira Liga, Portugal) | 28 | 29 |
| FWD | 19 | Diego Moreira | Strasbourg (Ligue 1, France) | 21 | 2 |
| FWD | 22 | Alexis Saelemaekers | AC Milan (Serie A, Italy) | 26 | 23 |
| FWD | 10 | Leandro Trossard | Arsenal (Premier League, England) | 31 | 50 |
Where to watch Spain vs. Belgium
In USA:
- TV channel: Fox
- Live stream: fubo, Fox One, Fox Sports app/website
This match will be broadcast nationally on Fox in the United States with streaming options available on its dedicated platforms.
The best place to catch the match is on streaming service fubo, with new customers able to sign up for a FREE trial.
Fubo offers a free trial for new subscribers, so you can try the service before you buy. Stream ESPN, ABC, CBS, Fox and 100+ top channels of live TV and sports without cable. (Participating plans only. Taxes and fees may apply.)
Here is how to watch the match in some of the other major territories:
| Canada | TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5, RDS | TSN+, RDS app |
| UK | BBC One | BBC iPlayer, BBC Sport website |
| Australia | SBS | SBS On Demand |
| India | Unite8 Sports 1, 2 | ZEE5 |

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