Mikel Merino’s dramatic 88th-minute winner against Belgium at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Friday night sent Spain into the World Cup semifinals and simultaneously equalled Argentina’s record for the second-longest unbeaten run in men’s international football history.Spain’s 2-1 victory over Belgium means they have now gone 36 consecutive matches without a defeat, matching the run Argentina compiled between 2019 and 2022, a sequence that culminated in their World Cup triumph in Qatar. Only Italy’s extraordinary 37-game unbeaten streak between 2018 and 2021 stands ahead of Spain in the all-time list.The record-equalling win was anything but straightforward. Spain took the lead through Fabián Ruiz in the 30th minute, only to be pegged back by Charles De Ketelaere’s equaliser in the 41st minute, the first goal Spain had conceded in the entire 2026 World Cup, ending Unai Simón’s historic clean-sheet streak. With Belgium pushing for a winner and Spain’s grip on the match loosening, it took a moment of individual brilliance from the most unlikely of sources.Merino, introduced as a second-half substitute, latched onto a spilled Pau Cubarsí shot after Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who had replaced the injured and tearful Thibaut Courtois in the 71st minute could not hold on to it cleanly. Merino pounced and buried the rebound. SoFi Stadium erupted.It was the second time in this tournament that Merino had come off the bench to score a decisive late winner, having done exactly the same against Portugal in the Round of 16, nodding home in stoppage time to send Cristiano Ronaldo home in tears.Spain now face France in the semifinal in Arlington, Texas on Tuesday, which is a heavyweight European clash that will decide one finalist. The other semifinal pits Argentina against England.Italy’s record of 37 games unbeaten is now just one match away. A win against France on Tuesday would see Spain stand at the top of that list with the Azzuri’s.
