India, July 11 -- Spain booked their place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals after Mikel Merino scored a dramatic late winner in a 2-1 victory over Belgium at Los Angeles Stadium on Friday (early Saturday in India).

Spain will face France in the first semi-final of the 2026 World Cup at Dallas Stadium (AT&T Stadium) in Arlington, Texas, on July 14 at 2 pm local time (IST 12:30 am on July 15).

Fabian Ruiz opened the scoring for Spain before Charles De Ketelaere restored parity for Belgium.

Merino then struck in the closing stages to send Luis de la Fuente's side into a high-profile semi-final against France at Dallas Stadium.

Spain started brightly and created several early chances against Belgium.

The breakthrough came in the 30...