Venue: Los Angeles Stadium
TV and Live Stream: Fox, Telemundo, Fox One
Money Line: Spain -350 (bet $350 to win $100), Belgium +265 (bet $100 to win $265)
Friday’s clash between Spain and Belgium figures to be one of the most interesting stylistic matchups of the quarterfinals.
Spain, managed by Luis de la Fuente, has relied on technical prowess, efficiency, and truly tremendous defensive effort. La Roja has yet to concede a goal in this tournament, and keeper Unai Simón has an ongoing World Cup clean sheet that dates back to December of 2022.
The Spanish attack hasn’t always been explosive—though it did produce a 21-shot, four-goal outburst against Saudi Arabia in the group stage. However, Spain’s ability to control the ball and deny opportunities could be a tournament-winning recipe.
“Monday’s 1-0 win against Portugal won’t win a beauty pageant, but it was another example of Spain’s ability to shut down its opponents,” The Athletic’s Dan Santaromita wrote.
La Roja will be up against a Belgium team that found its groove during a 4-1 win over the United States in the round of 16. While Spain’s most recent win might not have been pretty, Belgium’s was art.
The Red Devils regularly knifed through the American backline and peppered shots (seven on-target) while casually denying just about everything the United States tried to do. Spain, of course, will be a much different test than the USA. However, Belgium’s attack, led by Jérémy Doku and Romelu Lukaku, is lethal when it’s in a rhythm.
If the Red Devils manage to score early and control the tempo, they’ll have an excellent chance to earn the upset.
Of course, Belgium’s defense hasn’t been nearly as efficient as Spain’s has been, though it’s still allowing just a goal per game, on average. That should provide Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams, and the rest of the Spanish offense with opportunities to equalize if La Roja does fall behind.
The match should feature a fair bit of back and forth, though it’s highly unlikely to be a score-fest. This one could truly go either way, but the prediction here is that the Spanish defense once again dictates the match and prevents Belgium from grasping that much-needed early advantage.
Prediction: Spain 2-1 Belgium
*Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook
