After the first World Cup day off on Wednesday, the quarter finals of the tournament begin on Thursday. The crunch stage of the competition has been reached, with one of four huge games seeing European champions Spain facing a resurgent Belgium team buoyed by success over the USA.
Spain will be strong favourites to progress given their performances so far, but could Belgium continue to ride their recent wave of momentum to go further than anyone expected? We provide our predictions and tips for the Friday night match below.
Spain vs Belgium Match Odds
Spain are odds-on to get the job done in 90 minutes. They are priced at 4/6 to win, with 3/1 the best odds for the draw and 5/1 for Belgium to cause the upset.
Spain vs Belgium Tips & Predictions
It is five games, five clean sheets for Spain at the 2026 World Cup. In many ways they are reminiscent of their 2010 champions in being a technically gifted team, capable of easy-on-the-eye football, and yet owing their success to strong foundations. They simply do not concede goals and rarely concede chances.
Spain have had to be dogged at times, particularly against Uruguay and Portugal, while their 0-0 draw against Cape Verde showcased their occasional weakness at converting chances. Only against poor opposition in Saudi Arabia and Austria have they scored more than once. Belgium are not poor opposition.
Had these two met in the group stage, Luis De La Fuente’s charges would have fancied a mauling. Momentum is a funny thing though and Belgium arrive on the high of a 4-1 dismantling of hosts the USA. Having been all but out after 86 minutes of their last 32 game against Senegal, they are suddenly on the cusp of matching their best ever World Cup finish.
Rudi Garcia has made bold calls in the last couple of games which have paid off. Kevin De Bruyne did not see any minutes against the United States and the big names have become impact substitutes. Jeremy Doku and Romelu Lukaku were only introduced from the bench in the last 16.
Spain should dominate as ever, but will have to be wary of the counter threat. A similar match to their win over Portugal could well be forthcoming, with Lamine Yamal and co expected to grind out glory in the second half.
Our Tips for Spain vs Belgium
Spain to Win to Nil @ 7/4
0-0 Correct Half-Time Score @ 9/4
Spain 1-0 Belgium @ 7/1
Spain vs Belgium Head-To-Head
Since sparking their “golden generation”, Belgium have only been afforded one opportunity to play Spain. That came in a 2-0 friendly defeat in 2016. La Roja’s record against their quarter final opponents is stellar, winning their last five clashes. They have also gone unbeaten in 90 minutes in their past 11. Belgium have only won four of 22 meetings dating back to their first in 1921, nine years before the World Cup even existed.
Spain vs Belgium World Cup Record
Spain became champions of the world for the first and only time in 2010. Until this year, they had failed to win a knockout game since. Belgium did not quite make use of their stellar squad in the 2010s, though did reach the semi finals in Russia in 2018, where they lost to France before winning the third place play-off against England.
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