Spain conceded for the first time in 650 minutes. The last man to score against them was Ao Tanaka.

Belgium's equalizer came from a Timothy Castagne cross and a glancing De Ketelaere header, and with it Spain's record run of scoreless World Cup minutes ended at 650. The streak stretched back to the 2022 group stage in Qatar, when Ao Tanaka poked in the goal that beat Spain 2-1 and knocked Germany out of the tournament. For three years and seven months, no one else had managed it: not Portugal, not Cristiano Ronaldo with his 17 shots, not the four opponents Spain shut out in the group stage this summer.

Spain still won. Fabian Ruiz, picked ahead of Pedri, tapped in a rebound after Thibaut Courtois had saved from Dani Olmo. Belgium levelled before the break. The winner arrived in the 88th minute, and it came from a familiar face: Mikel Merino, on as a substitute in the 86th, scored with his second touch of the match, exactly as he had against Portugal in the round of 16.

Belgium's night fell apart in pieces. Captain Youri Tielemans was scratched from the lineup after picking up a knock in the warm-up. Courtois came off in the 71st minute holding his quadriceps and left the field in tears. "I took a goal kick and I felt a lot of pain in my quadriceps," he said afterwards, adding that he could have continued and that the decision to replace him was the manager's. Seventeen minutes later his replacement, Senne Lammens, spilled a long-range shot from Pau Cubarsi, and Merino was there.

The semifinal is a rematch of the Euro 2024 semifinal, when a 16-year-old Lamine Yamal curled in from distance and Spain won 2-1 in Munich. France arrive as the tournament's most complete team: six wins from six, 16 goals scored, four conceded, and not once behind in a match. Kylian Mbappe has eight goals and three assists.

Yamal, by contrast, has one goal and no assists in six appearances, and has been written off in much of the coverage as quiet. The underlying numbers say something different. According to World Soccer Talk he leads the entire tournament in chances created with 17, and has taken nine shots in his last two matches alone. He has also beaten Mbappe in all five of their previous knockout meetings, club and country. "If France has to fear anyone, it's us, as we're the ones who have knocked them out before," he said after the Belgium win.

Two things are still unresolved. Courtois's quadriceps injury has not been given a timeline. Mbappe took a knock to his right ankle against Morocco and came off in the 77th minute, though he said "I'm all good" and Didier Deschamps said there was no problem. Spain's unbeaten run now stands at 36 matches, one short of Italy's all-time record of 37.

The other semifinal is decided tomorrow: Norway play England at 06:00 JST, and Argentina play Switzerland at 10:00 JST.