Belgium were looking great in form after their dominant 4-1 victory Vs USMNT, and their attack looked lethal. But before the whistle even blew. During the pre match warm ups, their key playmaker Youri Tielemans suffered a major setback and was forced out of the lineup. Losing their creative playmaker right before kickoff completely disrupted Belgium’s tactical setup, allowing Spain to control the early minutes of the game.
Spain took full advantage of the situation, scoring in the 30th minute. The shot was saved by the keeper Courtouis but Fabian Ruiz was positioned perfectly to pick up the rebound and tap it in, giving Spain the lead before the halftime. Until this match the Spanish defense had been an absolute wall, arriving at the quarter finals without conceding a single goal in the entire tournament.
But Belgium found a way to break that streak right before the half time whistle at the 41st minute. Kevin De Bruyne found Charles De Ketelaere in the box with a brilliant pass. De Ketelaere timed his run perfectly and scored through a fantastic header, leveling the score and shifting all the pressure back onto Spain.
Moments after the equalizer, Belgium thought they had won a penalty and this might be their chance to put them ahead of Spain.The ball struck Rodri’s arm inside the box It went to a VAR review, but the referee ruled it out, seeing that the ball had deflected off a Spanish teammate at close range, giving Rodri no time to react.
The real turning point for Belgium, however, was another injury blow. Their star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois went down with a thigh injury and couldn't continue. He was replaced by Manchester United’s young keeper, Senne Lammens, who was making his international tournament debut after a solid first season in the Premier League. Unfortunately for Lammens, the pressure got the better of him. Spain’s young defender Pau Cubarsi took a shot at the target from outside the box and he couldn't handle it properly and it deflected off him and Mikel merino who was in right position for it put it past him to put Spain ahead.
Spain held onto the 2-1 lead until the final whistle, and booked their spot in the semi finals where they will face France.