The Belgium World Cup 2026 campaign is going to intensify as they take on European champions Spain in the quarter-finals on Friday, July 10, in California.
The Belgium World Cup 2026 team have scored 12 goals in their last three matches, including four against co-hosts USA, and are looking the part now. However, Spain will be significantly stronger than any opposition they have played till now. The Spain vs Belgium match should start with the Spaniards being the favourites. But it is up to the Belgians to prove they are serious title contenders as well.
Belgium World Cup 2026 Campaign Has Been Boosted by the Performance of Their
Belgium have often decided not to start Romelu Lukaku, 33, as their centre-forward. However, that has not stopped the Napoli forward from scoring three goals in the tournament already. It will be interesting to see whether Belgium decide to start him in the Spain vs Belgium match or opt for springing in a surprise by using him as a substitute.
Lukaku’s physical presence will pose a different sort of challenge to Aymeric Laporte and Pau Cubarsi. Spain should rely more on Laporte to contain the threat posed by the big Belgian.
Then, there is the ageless Kevin de Bruyne, who at 35 is having a pretty good tournament himself. De Bruyne has scored two goals in the tournament so far and will remain Belgium’s primary creative influence in the match against Spain as well.
De Bruyne, alongside his old teammate Youri Tielemans, is likely to pose a stiff challenge to the much-vaunted Spanish midfield of Pedri, Rodri and Dani Olmo. De Bruyne and Tielemans have 123 and 90 caps for Belgium, respectively, and are among the more experienced midfielders at the World Cup 2026. The crossing abilities of both De Bruyne and Tielemans will be crucial on Friday to engage Lukaku inside the Spanish penalty box.
De Bruyne has played the majority of his club football for a team that enjoys dominating ball possession. However, that is unlikely to be the case in the Spain vs Belgium match, with the Spaniards being quite adept at keeping the ball. Hence, Belgium will have to hurt Spain during the short spells in which they will have the ball.
The Spanish wingers, Jeremy Doku and Leandro Trossard, will also be crucial for them, and De Bruyne’s ability to link with them with diagonal passes will be extremely crucial for Belgium.
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The Belgian Golden Generation Came Close To Winning a World Cup in 2018
The Red Devils finished third at the World Cup 2018, with their so-called golden generation flattering to deceive in the end. They also came close at the UEFA Euro 2020, but lost to eventual champions Italy 1-2 in a very exciting quarterfinal.
The good thing for Belgium is that they have somewhat gone under the radar this time around, with most of their players from the golden generation retiring. Hence, it could be the time for them to perform at their best, as the pressure of expectation will be less on them.
However, the Spaniards pose a very difficult challenge for them in the quarter-finals. It remains to be seen whether they can overcome that to reach the last four once again. Doing so will firmly put them among the favourites to win the title.
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