Spain-Belgium: giant clash in Los Angeles

A contest eagerly awaited by the football world will be played in the World Cup quarterfinal. Spain will face Belgium at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Friday, 10 July. With the winning side advancing to the semifinal, this contest stands out as a clash between two very different footballing philosophies.

Having topped their group, Spain are producing an impressive defensive performance at the tournament. Eliminating Portugal 1-0 in the Round of 16 through Mikel Merino's stoppage-time goal, Spain had beaten Austria 3-0 before reaching this stage. La Roja's most notable statistic is that they have kept a clean sheet for five straight matches; combined with the closing stage of Qatar 2022, this figure sets a record of six consecutive clean sheets in World Cup history.

With Spain maintaining a 35-match unbeaten run in official matches, Lamine Yamal's unpredictability and Pedri's playmaking ability in attack are shown as the team's greatest weapons. Mikel Oyarzabal, the tournament's top scorer with four goals, stands out as Spain's most reliable attacking element.

On the Belgium side, a highly effective attacking line draws attention. Beating co-hosts the United States 4-1 in the Round of 16, Belgium had previously come from 2-0 down against Senegal to win 3-2 in extra time. Having scored 13 goals in their last five matches, Belgium possess one of the most productive attacks in the tournament. However, the absence of midfielder Amadou Onana, who suffered a torn right knee ACL against the United States, stands out as a significant loss for Belgium.

The only World Cup history between the two teams dates back to Mexico 1986, when Belgium eliminated Spain on penalties in that quarterfinal. How the two teams, meeting again in the same round 40 years later, will perform in this match will be eagerly awaited.

Image: Bolavip

🇪🇸 Spain (De la Fuente) — probable XI, 4-2-3-1: Unai Simón; Pedro Porro, Pau Cubarsí, Aymeric Laporte, Marc Cucurella; Rodri, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Álex Baena; Mikel Oyarzabal.
🇧🇪 Belgium (Rudi Garcia) — probable XI, 4-2-3-1: Thibaut Courtois; Timothy Castagne, Brandon Mechele, Nathan Ngoy, Maxim De Cuyper; Hans Vanaken, Youri Tielemans; Jérémy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne, Leandro Trossard; Charles De Ketelaere.