Overview
The Belgian team reached their peak form before the confrontation with Spain in the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup at Los Angeles stadium.
Leading Group G but performing not really convincingly, coach Rudi Garcia's team gradually accelerated when entering the knockout round. After a comeback to defeat Senegal 3-2 after extra time in the round of 32, Belgium continued to impress with a 4-1 victory over co-hosts USA in the round of 16.
Charles De Ketelaere shone with a double, while two players who came on as substitutes, Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku, also scored to close the convincing performance.
Lukaku continues to prove his value in the role of "super substitute". All 3 goals of this striker at the 2026 World Cup were scored after entering the field from the bench. That achievement helped him become the second Belgian player after Marc Wilmots (2002) to score in 3 consecutive World Cup matches. In the history of the tournament, only legend Roger Milla of Cameroon (4 goals in 1990) scored more goals as a substitute.
Belgium's scoring efficiency is also very impressive. Garcia's team achieved a conversion rate of shots to goals of up to 12.1%, the second highest in World Cup history since 1966, only behind the 15.2% achievement they set at the 2018 World Cup.
However, the challenge for Belgium will be much more difficult when the opponent is Spain - the team with the most solid defense in the tournament.
Coach Luis de la Fuente's team just defeated Portugal 1-0 to extend their 5-match clean sheet streak at the World Cup, setting a new record for the tournament.
Not only defending solidly, Spain still maintained creativity in attack. Mikel Merino's decisive goal in the 90+1 minute against Portugal brought La Roja to the World Cup quarter-finals for the sixth time in history.
However, Belgium also has reason to be confident. They are the team that eliminated Spain in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals after a penalty shootout. With a high-performing attack facing the most solid defense of the tournament, the great battle in Los Angeles is expected to be one of the most attractive matches in the 2026 World Cup quarter-finals.
Head-to-head record
Head-to-head history is leaning towards Spain before the clash with Belgium in the World Cup 2026 quarter-finals.
La Roja has won all five recent encounters, scoring 13 goals and conceding only once.
This will be the third time Belgium and Spain have faced each other at a World Cup. The two teams met in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, where Belgium won the right to advance after a penalty shootout victory when the two teams drew 1-1 after 120 minutes. 4 years later, Spain avenged by winning 2-1 against Belgium in the group stage of the 1990 World Cup.
Score prediction: Spain 2-1 Belgium
The match between Spain and Belgium takes place at 2:00 AM on July 11 (Vietnam time).
