“If France should fear anyone, it’s us,” Lamine Yamal confidently proclaimed in the aftermath of Spain’s 2–1 win over Belgium in the second of the 2026 World Cup quarterfinals.
It’s hard to argue against Yamal’s point, even though Spain needed 88 minutes and a mistake from Belgium goalkeeper Senne Lammens to get over the line at SoFi Stadium—substitute Mikel Merino the beneficiary after Manchester United’s No. 1, only playing because Thibaut Courtois went off with a quadricep injury 20 minutes before time, parried Pau Cubarsí’s relatively tame low drive into his path.
