De la Fuente labels Belgium clash Spain’s ‘hardest’ of the World Cup so far
Spain boss Luis de la Fuente is under no illusions that Belgium will be a big test for his side.
He told press on Thursday afternoon at the Los Angeles Stadium: “Tomorrow’s game will be the hardest that we’ve faced to this point.
“Belgium is a very powerful team. These are players who are used to winning. It’s going to be a challenging match.”
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 19:00
Belgium restore stars to line-up
Belgium’s talismanic midfielder Kevin De Bruyne starts from the off, whilst Jeremy Doku comes back to the starting XI as well.
There’s still no room for Romelu Lukaku, who is still gaining match fitness. His displays off the bench for Belgium have been more than impactful, and the Red Devils will hope for more the same tonight.
Interestingly, the injured Andre Onana is replaced not by Hans Vanaken, but instead by Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin.
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 18:59
Line ups
Belgium XI: Courtois; Castagne, Ngoy, Mechele, De Cuyper; Raskin, Tielemans; Doku, De Bruyne, Trossard; De Ketelaere.
Subs: Lammens, Penders, Theate, Meunier, De Winter, Seys, Witsel, Saelemaekers, Vanaken, Lukaku, Moreira, Fernandez-Pardo, Lukebakio.
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 18:49
Line-ups
Spain XI: Simon; Porro, Cubarasi, Laporte, Cucurella; Rodri, Ruiz; Yamal, Olmo, Baena; Oyarzabal.
Subs: Raya, J Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, E Garcia, Merino, Pedri, Gavi, Zubimendi, Torres, Pino, Iglesias, Munoz, Williams.
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 18:48
Team news on the way…
Righty ho. Team news should be with us shortly. Will Belgium bring back a couple of their big-hitters? And are there any surprises in a settled Spain team?
Harry Latham-Coyle10 July 2026 18:40
This is the third meeting between the two countries at the World Cup. As previously mentioned, Belgium were winners in the first match-up, advancing on penalties 5-4 winners after a 1-1 draw in normal time and extra time in 1986.
The following World Cup, Belgium and Spain were drawn in the same group at Italia ‘90.
Both managed to qualify from the group stage, with Spain in first and Belgium second. The Spanish enacted revenge on their Belgian counterparts for defeat in ‘86 with a 2-1 win at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Overall, the two countries have played 22 times, with Spain victorious on 12 occasions. Currently the Spaniards are on an eight-game unbeaten streak against the Belgians, with their last meeting, a friendly, ending in a 2-0 win for Spain in 2016.
La Roja beat the Belgians twice during qualifying for the 2010 edition of the tournament – obviously going on to win the lot in South Africa.
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 18:35
World Cup 2026 statistics: What the numbers reveal about the quarter-finalists
Want more stats like the one referenced by Rudi Garcia? Lawrence Ostlere has dug deep into all of the facts and figures to look at some of the trends and tactics of this World Cup.
Harry Latham-Coyle10 July 2026 18:30
It is not the first time these two countries have met in a World Cup quarter-final. 40 years ago Spain and Belgium crossed paths at Mexico ‘86, playing out a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Pueblo.
Jan Ceulemans opened the scores for the Belgians in the first half, and it looked like that would be enough to secure safe passage through to the semi finals.
However, Spain’s Juan Señor equalised in the 85th minute, sending the game to extra time, before penalties were required.
Belgium were perfect from the spot, advancing 5-4 winners after the shootout for their first appearance in the semi-finals – where they lost 2-0 to eventual champions Argentina.
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 18:25
Rudi Garcia confident Belgium can challenge Spain
Belgium boss Rudi Garcia is confident that his side can get at Spain’s impressive defence in Los Angeles today.
“We know we are playing one of`the favourites. Spain are probably the best at ball possession and they have been playing in a recognisable way for 15 or 20 years,” Garcia, who comes from Spanish heritage, said. “But we have a great team. We are the second-highest scorers in the World Cup and we are facing the team with the highest expected goals. We think we can do it.”
Harry Latham-Coyle10 July 2026 18:20
Spain have been a dominant footballing force in the 21st century – just the three European Championships and one World Cup in their trophy cabinet – but it is Belgium who have reached the semi-finals of the World Cup most recently.
Belgian’s golden generation finally clicked at the 2018 edition of the tournament, losing to eventual winners France 1-0 courtesy of a Samuel Umtiti goal in the 51st minute.
The Red Devils went on to finish third, beating England 3-0 in the third-place play-off.
Until this year’s World Cup, Spain had failed to win a knockout game in the tournament since their 2010 triumph. Knocked out in the group stage of their attempted defence in 2014, Spain exited the last two World Cups in the Round of 16 after penalty shootout defeats to Russia and Morocco, respectively.
Jack Tanner10 July 2026 18:15
