Welcome to TNIE's live coverage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals.
The first quarterfinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup saw France overpower the African champions Morocco with a clinical 2-0 win to book their third consecutive semi-final appearance.
Day 30 will see unbeaten Spain meet star-powered Belgium in the second quarterfinals. If Spain win, they will head to Texas next Tuesday for a mouth-watering semi-final against the French that many observers are already describing as the final before the final.
Here is Day 30's fixture:
Spain vs Belgium — 12:30 am (IST)
Coach Rudi Garcia said "everyone" expects his Belgium team to be eliminated by Spain in Friday's World Cup quarter-final, but backed his side to pull off a famous victory.
European champions Spain enter the match in Los Angeles as strong favorites, having not conceded a goal all tournament.
Belgium have had a more testing time of it, only narrowly topping their group after two draws with Egypt and Iran, and requiring a late comeback to dispatch Senegal.
But at a press conference Thursday, Garcia appeared to relish being dubbed the "underdog."
"Everyone is already talking about us going home. But we think that we can do it," said the coach.
"We think we can pull it off, and we're going to do everything we can to get to the semis."
Belgium did find their feet in Monday's round-of-16 clash, thrashing the United States 4-1 to end the hopes of the World Cup co-hosts.
The best of Lamine Yamal is yet to come at this World Cup, Spain coach Luis de la Fuente warned, ahead of Friday's quarter-final clash with Belgium in Los Angeles.
"We know that the best version of him, the attacking Lamine, is something that we haven't quite seen yet in this World Cup. Not to the level that we're used to," said De la Fuente.
The prodigiously gifted Yamal has just one goal and no assists at the tournament so far, having arrived in the United States still recovering from a late-season injury.
But he has been a constant menace to opposing defenders attacking predominantly down Spain's right flank.
"We were facing a powerhouse of a rival, and the defender who was marking him ultimately had to do so much that he was injured," said De la Fuente.
At still just 18 years of age, Yamal has gained a lesson in "maturity" from the challenges he has faced at this World Cup so far, his coach said.
"He doesn't need extra motivation. You actually sometimes have to calm his intensity. He's very motivated -- he wants to do so much," said De la Fuente.
While Spain has been Europe's most consistent winner for the past 3 1/2 years, Belgium has played its way into position for what could be the final chance for its golden generation to do something spectacular together.
“Everyone is already talking about us going home, but we believe we can do it,” Belgium coach Rudi Garcia said through an interpreter Thursday. “We believe we can pull off an upset, and we will do everything we can to get to the semis.”
The tantalizing clash at SoFi Stadium matches a pre-tournament favorite and the reigning European champions against Belgium, which has never quite reached its full potential despite the big-money stars across its roster.
The winner faces France in the Dallas area on Tuesday in the semifinals, and Spain is enough of a perceived favorite that coach Luis De La Fuente had to parry several questions from his national media Thursday about that potentially titanic clash with Les Bleus.
Lukaku likened the feeling of this match to the Red Devils' meeting with Brazil in the World Cup quarterfinals eight years ago in Russia — a game his team won 2-1 in stunning fashion.
“Tomorrow we need to play the perfect game if we want to proceed,” said Lukaku, Belgium's career goals leader. “Spain is an excellent team. They’ve been playing the same type of football since 2008. They're well prepared, but we have certain assets that can make life difficult for them. We love the challenge.”