The roar that greeted Mikel Merino’s 88th-minute winner at the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, carried the weight of Spanish history. With the score locked at 1-1 and Belgium threatening to force extra time, the midfielder, barely two minutes on the pitch, pounced on a rebound spilled by substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens to clinch a 2-1 victory and a place in the World Cup semifinals. La Roja’s progress was tinged with drama: moments earlier, Belgian captain Thibaut Courtois had broken down in tears as he limped off with a thigh injury, forcing the untested Lammens into the fray. Spain’s unbeaten run now stands at 36 matches, the second-longest in international history.

Fabian Ruiz had given Spain the lead on the half-hour, snapping up a rebound after Courtois parried Dani Olmo’s drive. But their famed defensive resilience – they had not conceded in 649 minutes at this World Cup – was punctured 11 minutes later, when Charles De Ketelaere rose to head in a cross from Timothy Castagne. The equaliser energised a Belgium side looking to reach back-to-back semi-finals, yet the second half tilted inexorably towards Spanish dominance. Lamine Yamal, a constant menace on the right, drew saves and gasps; Courtois kept Belgium alive with a string of stops until his body failed him. Lammens, thrown into the cauldron, could not gather an apparently routine shot, and Merino, the hero of the last-16 win over Portugal, reacted fastest.

For Spain, the victory is a homecoming to a stage they last reached in 2010, when they went on to lift the trophy. Coach Luis de la Fuente, reflecting on a squad that has blended veterans with youth, said: “It is the character of this team. We are the only side to have beaten France twice in the last two years, and we believe we can do it again.” His reference to Les Bleus underscores the formidable obstacle ahead: the two European powerhouses will meet in Dallas on 14 July, their first World Cup encounter since France’s 3-1 win in 2006.

French anxieties, however, are stoked by a striking statistic. Kylian Mbappé, their captain and talisman, has never won an elimination match against Yamal’s Spain or Barcelona – five meetings have yielded three defeats and two draws. The young Catalan himself was defiant: “There are two possibilities: France make their third straight final, or we beat them for the third time. We are not afraid.” The semifinal, a collision of the tournament’s meanest defence and its most prolific attack, already crackles with subplots.