The Spanish national team faces a quarter-final 16 years later against Belgium with the hope of continuing to make history in this 2026 World Cup.

After 16 years of waiting, the Spanish national team has returned to a World Cup quarter-final. The last time they reached this round was in the 2010 World Cup, the year Spain won its only world title to date. That time, the opponent was Paraguay, but this year, the opponent for the national team will be Belgium.

In a European duel, the Spaniards will seek to reach the second semi-finals in their history, just like the Belgians, who achieved it in the 2018 World Cup. Spain is not shining with its play as in the Eurocopa won in 2024, however, it is being a very effective team, and despite not finding its maximum level, it continues to play very well. Furthermore, the last match has been a morale boost for the Spaniards, as they sent home a great team like Portugal, with a goal from Mikel Merino in the final minutes, unleashing euphoria.

Moreover, Spain is the only team that has still not conceded a single goal in the entire tournament, setting a historic record, and giving great security to its fans. And not only that, but Spain is already in the quarter-finals, and we still haven't seen the best version of a Lamine Yamal who was coming from an injury and now has to take a step forward. We have also barely seen the other winger Nico Williams, who has suffered several injuries during the competition. This means that Spain has already reached this round without the maximum level of these two very important players, so if the national team can now count on them at a good level, there are reasons to be excited not only about reaching the semi-finals, but about winning the championship.

Regarding the lineup, it seems clear except for some positions. Dani Olmo and Mikel Merino are the big unknown in a midfield position, after the goal scored by Merino in the previous match coming off the bench. There are also some doubts at right-back. Pedro Porro seems to have secured the starting spot, however, the possibility of Marcos Llorente, who started this World Cup as a starter, should not be ruled out. These are the two doubts in the lineup, as the rest of the team, barring surprises, will be the same as in previous matches.

Their rival, Belgium, started the World Cup with some doubts after a rather regular group stage. In the round of sixteen, they miraculously qualified, coming back from a 2-0 deficit against Senegal in the final minutes. However, they arrive at these quarterfinals with a lot of confidence, after defeating host United States with a convincing 4-1 in the round of sixteen. This makes them an unpredictable team, and they certainly deserve a lot of respect, as they also have players in their squad who are stars in their teams, such as Doku, De Bruyne, or Lukaku, among other good players.

That does not mean that the Spanish national team starts as the favorite to advance to the semifinals. In those hypothetical semifinals, France is already waiting, having defeated Morocco yesterday, Thursday. But first, they will have to overcome the Belgians to continue making history in this 2026 World Cup.