Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semifinal against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday.
The stunning finish at SoFi Stadium sets up a tantalizing showdown between European champions Spain and the tournament favorites France and the red-hot Kylian Mbappe in Dallas on Tuesday.
But it was heartbreak for Belgium’s substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens, sent on late, who spilled a shot into the path of Merino.
The dramatic finale came after Fabian Ruiz had opened the scoring for Spain, before Charles De Ketelaere grabbed one back for Belgium against the run of play before halftime.
Welcoming Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku back to the starting XI, Belgium were rocked by a hamstring injury during the warm-ups to captain Youri Tielemans that hit them hard.
Having already lost Amadou Onana to a ruptured ACL, the Red Devils would have to play a near second-choice midfield against the Spanish possession masters.
Ruiz, brought in for Pedri, wasted no time combining with Rodri to dominate the ball and Barcelona’s teen sensation Lamine Yamal curled an early shot just wide of the far post.
But opposing winger Doku was bright for Belgium, cutting in from the left to feed De Ketelaere, the striker fresh from his brace against the United States on Monday.
Still, it was Spain who struck first. On the half-hour mark, Pedro Porro played a sharp one-two with Lamine Yamal before expertly cutting it back from near the byline to Dani Olmo.
Olmo’s shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois, but fell to Ruiz, who fired it home.
Suddenly it was all Spain. They pinged passes around the Belgian half as though this World Cup quarter-final was a training exercise, laid on for an A-list crowd featuring Brad Pitt, Penelope Cruz and Noel Gallagher.
But Belgium, having fought back astonishingly late from 2-0 down in the round-of-32 to dispatch Senegal, did not panic.
They grabbed one back in the 41st minute. De Bruyne slid a through ball wide to Timothy Castagne. His cross found De Ketelaere, who perfectly timed his run and outmuscled Barcelona youngster Pau Cubarsi to head home.
It was the first goal Spain had conceded this World Cup.
Improbably, Belgium almost grabbed another before half-time. Breaking from a Spain corner, De Ketelaere’s pass to a totally clear Doku was barely intercepted by Olmo.
Yamal grew into the game after the break, nearly finding Mikel Oyarzabal with an incisive cross that was well blocked by a charging Courtois. (JapanToday)
Kylian Mbappe recovered from having a first-half penalty saved to score a magnificent opener that set France on their way to a 2-0 win over Morocco in their World Cup quarterfinal on Thursday.
Mbappe’s weak spot-kick was easily saved by Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, but he made up for that by producing a brilliant curling finish to make it 1-0 on the hour mark.
That was Mbappe’s eighth goal at the tournament, moving him level again with Lionel Messi in the race for the Golden Boot, before he came off late on and watched the final minutes with an ice pack around his right ankle.
Before exiting, he set up Ousmane Dembele to run through and settle the contest watched by 63,811 at the Gillette Stadium, as France knocked Morocco out, just as they did in 2022.
Their 2-0 win four years ago in Qatar came in the semifinals, and this time the victory for Les Bleus takes them through to the last four. They will face Spain or Belgium in Dallas next Tuesday.
France are looking to reach a third consecutive World Cup final in their last tournament before long-serving coach Didier Deschamps stands down.
Winners in 2018 and runners-up in 2022, it has felt like they have eased through to another semifinal and they were too strong for a Moroccan team lacking firepower in the absence of the injured Ismael Saibari.
Mbappe is one of the greatest goal-scorers of his generation, and the World Cup continues to bring the very best out of him.
After netting braces in the group-stage wins over Senegal and Iraq, as well as the last-32 defeat of Sweden, he got the only goal from the penalty spot against Paraguay in the last round.
He has now scored 20 goals in 20 World Cup appearances, within one goal of Messi’s overall tournament record of 21.
More could have been expected from Morocco, who had more of the crowd behind them but lacked a cutting edge in attack as France kept a third clean sheet in as many knockout games.
Nevertheless, they have plenty of exciting young talent — including former France Under-21 captain Ayyoub Bouaddi in their midfield — and will surely be a force to be reckoned with again when they co-host the next World Cup in 2030 alongside Spain and Portugal.
On Thursday they were just the latest team to find containing Mbappe at a World Cup to be an impossible task.
The Real Madrid star provoked the penalty as he was scythed down in the area by Noussair Mazraoui after a quick breakaway in the 25th minute.
Argentinian referee Facundo Tello immediately pointed to the spot, although a review was needed to rule out a foul on Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi in the build-up.
Maybe the wait got to Mbappe, whose kick was uncharacteristically weak and easily stopped. It was a reminder that he remains human, just like Messi who has squandered two penalties at this World Cup.
The excellent Bounou frequently kept France at bay in the first half, notably tipping a Desire Doue shot around the post after Bouaddi was robbed of the ball.
Lucas Digne crashed a shot onto the top of the bar from distance as the opening half ended goalless, but France got the reward for their pressure 15 minutes after the restart.
Doue slipped the ball to Mbappe just outside the area, and he controlled before using Issa Diop as a screen to direct a superb strike into the net.
France’s all-time leading marksman now has 64 international goals from 104 appearances.
His lay-off in the 66th minute allowed Dembele to advance on goal and curl a shot low into the same corner, a hand from Bounou proving unable to make it 2-0.
Dembele is the reigning Ballon d’Or and now has five goals at this World Cup, but Mbappe continues to hog the limelight. (JapanToday)
Arsenal reached the Champions League semifinals after riding their luck in a nervous goalless draw against Sporting Lisbon that clinched a 1-0 aggregate victory on Wednesday.
Mikel Arteta’s team were well below their best in the quarterfinal second leg at the Emirates Stadium. But they held onto their slender first-leg advantage as Sporting failed to make them pay for the latest in a growing list of angst-ridden performances.
The Gunners will face Atletico Madrid for a place in the final after the Spanish club went through 3-2 on aggregate against Barcelona on Tuesday.
Arsenal crushed Atletico 4-0 in the group stage at the Emirates in October, but they will have to improve significantly to reach the final for the first time since 2006.
Arsenal have reached the Champions semifinals in two consecutive seasons for the first time in their history. Yet after losing three of their last five games in all competitions and winning just once, they remain a puzzling side in the midst an untimely stumble.
Arteta had challenged Arsenal to play with “pure fire” and “zero fear” in an unusually passionate press conference on Tuesday. The response was hardly emphatic as Arsenal quickly retreated into their shell in another display lacking cohesion and quality in the final third.
Arsenal haven’t lifted the Premier League since 2004 and have never won the Champions League. The Premier League leaders are on course to achieve both targets, but the flaws in Arteta’s side have become increasingly clear in recent weeks.
Losing the League Cup final against Manchester City and the FA Cup quarterfinal against second-tier Southampton was bad enough. But a shock 2-1 home defeat against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday left Arteta facing pointed questions about Arsenal’s character that remain unanswered.
Arsenal are just six points ahead of second-placed City, who have a game in hand and host the Gunners in a seismic showdown on Sunday.
The north Londoners have finished Premier League runners-up for the past three seasons — twice blowing substantial leads to City in 2023 and 2024 — and the nerves are mounting.
Responding to Arteta’s call for a fiery performance, Arsenal pressed furiously in the opening 10 minutes but couldn’t make the breakthrough.
Once that initial assault petered out, Arsenal wobbled at the back and William Saliba’s wayward pass led to Francisco Trincao curling wide from the edge of the area.
Former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres has endured an erratic debut season with Arsenal and once again he struggled to make an impact.
Gyokeres had only one serious sight of goal after a burst into the Sporting six-yard box, but he didn’t get his shot off in time and Goncalo Inacio’s tackle snuffed out the danger.
Without the injured Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard, Arsenal were too often slow and unambitious in attack.
They grew increasingly edgy in a first half played out to a soundtrack of anxious groans from their frustrated fans.
Gunners ‘keeper David Raya nearly gifted Sporting a goal with a woeful pass that was intercepted by Trincao, whose miscued attempt to find Luis Suarez in the penalty area let Arsenal off the hook.
Geny Catamo was inches away from punishing Arsenal’s lethargy when he volleyed against the far post from an acute angle just before half-time.
Eberechi Eze’s drive whistled narrowly wide after the interval, before Gabriel Martinelli blasted just over and Noni Madueke shot into the side-netting.
Arteta responded by sending on Kai Havertz for Gyokeres, while Max Dowman replaced the injured Madueke.
Sporting appealed in vain for a penalty after Cristhian Mosquera’s slight push on Maxi Araujo. Arsenal were creaking but they held firm as Arteta breathed a sigh of relief.
In Munich, late strikes from Luis Diaz and Michael Olise sealed a dramatic 4–3 win for Bayern Munich over Real Madrid on Wednesday, clinching a 6–4 aggregate victory and setting up a semifinal with holders Paris Saint-Germain.
The tie was level at the break in the second leg after a scintillating opening half, with record 15-time European champions Real going ahead three times on the night.
Bayern won 2-1 last week in the Spanish capital, but Arda Guler pounced on a loose Manuel Neuer pass to put the visitors ahead after just 34 seconds at the Allianz Arena. He scored again from a free-kick after Aleksandar Pavlovic equalised.
Harry Kane put Bayern back ahead in the tie only for Kylian Mbappe to restore parity overall when he put Madrid 3-2 up before half-time.
Eduardo Camavinga was sent off for a second yellow card with four minutes left and Bayern pushed forward, Diaz blasting into the corner from outside the box after a crucial deflection.
With Real pressing for an equaliser, Olise curled in a magnificent shot to rubberstamp Bayern’s ticket to the last four and keep alive their quest for a seventh European crown. They will head to Luis Enrique’s PSG at the end of the month.
Tempers boiled over after the final whistle with Guler picking up a straight red for confronting the referee.
“We got off to a bad start, and then conceded again through a free-kick and a counter. The first half was hectic,” Joshua Kimmich told DAZN.
“The second half was calmer, we had more control – and then managed to win it in the end. It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ll take the win.
“The two best teams in Europe will face each other. We had many top level games against Paris in recent years. I’m looking forward to it.”
The defeat for Real effectively ended their season as they look set to finish without a major trophy for the second year running. Barcelona hold a nine-point lead in La Liga and Real suffered a shock last-16 exit in the Copa del Rey.
“I feel for them (the players), for the effort they made. It hurts,” coach Alvaro Arbeloa told Movistar. “I’m very proud. We’re going back to Madrid after giving it our all.”
For the first time in Real’s long Champions League history, their starting XI did not contain a single Spanish player. Jude Bellingham, who impressed off the bench in the first leg, was one of four changes to the line-up made by Arbeloa.
Neuer, widely lauded after a vintage performance in Madrid, gifted Real an opener. The Bayern goalkeeper miscued a pass directly to Guler, who floated a first-touch shot into the unguarded goal in the first minute.
Bayern looked stunned but struck back almost immediately when Pavlovic headed in a Kimmich corner after Real goalkeeper Andriy Lunin failed to read the flight of the ball.
The match had barely time to settle before Real were ahead once more thanks to a Guler goal, with Neuer again not at his best.
The Turkey international whipped a free-kick into the top corner which Neuer got a hand to but was unable to keep out.
The match continued to swing back and forth before the break, as Kane struck first before Mbappe responded by getting himself on the scoresheet.
Kane slotted clinically into the bottom corner in the 38th minute to again haul Bayern level on the night — and ahead in the tie — before Mbappe ran onto a Vinicius Junior pass and slotted home to level the tie 4-4 on aggregate.
With Real regularly cutting into Bayern’s high line, coach Vincent Kompany responded by introducing the pace of Alphonso Davies at the interval.
Both sides traded chances in the second half, with Olise particularly dangerous, forcing a fingertip save from Lunin with 20 minutes left.
Camavinga came on midway through the half but picked up two yellow cards in quick succession to leave his team a man down in the closing stages.
It proved a turning point as Bayern struck three minutes later when Diaz’s effort took a touch off Eder Militao and flashed beyond Lunin.
Olise made certain of Bayern’s progress deep into stoppage time as the German giants took down Real in a knockout clash for the first time since 2012. (JapanToday)
Real Madrid winger Vinicius Jr has stated that “racists are, above all, cowards” after alleging he was subjected to racial abuse during a Champions League match between Benfica and Real Madrid on Tuesday.
The group-stage tie in the UEFA Champions League was halted for approximately 10 minutes after Vinicius reported the alleged incident to French referee Francois Letexier.
The Brazil international and several of his team-mates briefly left the field during the stoppage.
As reported by BBC Sport on Wednesday, European football’s governing body, UEFA, has opened an investigation into the allegations.
Vinicius, who has previously been the target of racist abuse during his career in Spain, addressed the incident in a post on social media shortly after the match. “Racists are, above all, cowards,” he wrote.
Benfica midfielder Gianluca Prestianni, who could face a minimum 10-match ban from European competition if found guilty, has denied directing any racist abuse at Vinicius.
In a statement posted on Wednesday, Benfica said they “fully support” Prestianni and described the situation as a “defamation campaign” against the player. The club also released video footage of the alleged incident, arguing that, given the distance involved, Real Madrid players “could not have heard what they claim to have heard.”
“[Prestianni’s] conduct in the service of the club has always been guided by respect for opponents, institutions, and the principles that define Benfica’s identity,” the club said.
Fabrizio Romano on his X handle on Wednesday said TNT Sports, quoted Kylian Mbappe as saying, “I believe Gianluca Prestianni shouldn’t come to the Bernabéu, the best stadium in the world. “He doesn’t deserve it; he shouldn’t play.”
Benfica manager Jose Mourinho said in his post-match interview that he had been told different things by Vinicius and Prestianni regarding the incident.
Mourinho, who managed Real for 178 games between 2010 and 2013, said Vinicius had been disrespectful in his goal celebration and pointed to their legendary striker Eusebio as proof that Benfica is not a racist club.
“The club reaffirms, clearly and unequivocally, its historical and unwavering commitment to defending the values of equality, respect, and inclusion, which are in line with the core values of its foundation and have Eusebio as their greatest symbol,” Benfica said.
Mourinho’s and Benfica’s comments have been criticised by several people, including anti-discrimination charity Kick It Out.
Kick It Out chair Sanjay Bhandari said both the club and manager had “failed”.
“It’s a natural inclination to want to believe your player, but the reality is they didn’t hear it,” Bhandari told BBC Sport.
“There are only two people who are in that conversation, and two people who could have heard what was said.
“I think the better reaction from a club with Benfica’s fantastic stature would be to say we’re going to cooperate with the investigation.
“This is quite typical after these kinds of discriminatory events. The discrimination is one thing, the gaslighting is another.”
FIFA president Gianni Infantino said he was “shocked and saddened” by the incident and commended Letexier for activating the anti-racism protocol.
“There is absolutely no room for racism in our sport and in society – we need all the relevant stakeholders to take action and hold those responsible to account,” he added.
“I will always continue to reiterate: No to racism, no to any form of discrimination!” (Punch)
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