Red Devils in search of inspiration against a side who have not condensed at all in the tournament
Belgium will not have an easy time progressing against an in-form Spain side with a strong defence and an attack led by two shining stars in Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal.
Rudi Garcia’s side have not particularly been in form at this tournament. They barely scraped past the group stage, needing a third-game victory to advance, and they were almost eliminated by Senegal in the last 32, except the Africans choked and gave up a 2-0 lead in the closing stages.
But against co-hosts USA, who had in fact been decent up to that point, Belgium played their best football so far, harnessing the red mist to blow the Americans away, after all the furore that accompanied Donald Trump’s lobbying of Fifa to cancel the suspension on Folarin Balogun.
Garcia’s side had a lot of backing from the football world in that tie, who rightly felt righteous indignation at the guts of Fifa and wanted to see “justice” done. But here Spain will have more fans, thanks not only to the widespread admiration for Yamal, but also for the fury of the American supporters who still retain any interest in this tournament. They will be backing Spain to dish out to their erstwhile foes the same treatment they received.
Garcia said his team were ready for a hostile reception at the 80,000-capacity stadium in Los Angeles, but were not without their own support.
“The conditions will only be as difficult as they were in the round of 16,” Garcia said. “We had 12 million Belgium fans and now, over the last few days, I think we have millions and millions behind us; they have joined our ranks and I think that will be great.
“I think that will give us incredible strength. I don’t know what [the atmosphere] will be like in the stadium but we will concentrate on what we have to do. We have enough on our plate with the Spanish squad.”
Devilwood calling. 📞 #ESPBEL pic.twitter.com/K21Otgsupa
— Belgian Red Devils (@BelRedDevils) July 10, 2026
Spain are yet to concede a goal in this tournament. So dominant has their midfield been, and the defence equally has potential, with the prodigious Pau Cubarsi partnering the experienced Aymeric Laporte in central defence. In goal, Unai Simon gets the nod ahead of two high-quality goalkeepers in Arsenal’s David Raya – a Premier League champion, two-time Golden Glove winner, and Champions League finalist – and Barcelona’s Joan Garcia, who has been imperious in goal since joining last summer.
“We know we are playing one of the favourites and we know the strength they have as individuals and as a collective, which has been the case for 15 or 20 years now,” Garcia said. “They are the best when it comes to possession of the ball and we know that they have not conceded a goal but statistics are there to be broken and we will do what we can to score. If not, we will be sent packing. We are the second highest scoring team at the World Cup. Everyone is talking about us going home but we can do it.”
Belgium have Romelu Lukaku on their side, who has strangely been one of the best strikers in this tournament so far while starting on the bench. The 33-year-old has made the first XI in only one game at the tournament but has scored three goals and provided an assist. He is averaging a goal every 50 minutes played.
He has 93 goals as an international player. Other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, no player in Europe or South America has scored more. If anyone can break the impregnable Spain, it is him.
“I had a chat with the coach in April and he said I had to be prepared for a certain role,” Lukaku said. “I said ‘OK’ and here we are. Everything is going well and we are going to continue like this.
“We are well prepared physically, mentally and tactically. I know that I am in this situation because this has been a very hard year. The coach visited me and we talked for two hours. I know my role for this tournament. It would be crazy, having played just 64 minutes [for Napoli] to start every game. It would be self destructive. It is all about the team. I have to play with my head as well.”
The striker was bullish about his side’s chances against Spain, even if the latter are one for the tournament favourites.
“If you get this far you’re not going to just play to go home,” Lukaku said. “We need to play the perfect game tomorrow.”
