That’ll do from me. Sid Lowe’s report is here. Hasta luego.

Mikel Merino’s amazing moment arrived once more, a country circling the corner flag with him. The man who came on to scored the late, late goals that took Spain into a European championship semi-final two years ago and a World Cup quarter-final four days ago, only went and did it again. This is some hat-trick, history made here. Introduced as a sub on 85:32 with Spain struggling to find a way through against Belgium, Merino was the man most alert in the whole of Los Angeles, pouncing on a loose ball on 87:28 to send Spain to the semi-final against France next week.

Rudi Garcia’s contract is up as Belgium manager after this tournament, but maybe he’s done enough to warrant an extension. The squad is clearly in transition, with De Bruyne, Lukaku and Courtois seemingly on the way out and Doku, Trossard and Onana coming to the fore.

It’s worth saying that they were missing their first-choice midfield today against possibly the best at the World Cup – Amadou Onana did his ACL against the USA and Youri Tielemans pulled up in the warm-up.

Anyway, they’ll always have that day against the co-hosts in Seattle. And the dancing.

“Two excellent attacks going up against defenses that have a mistake in them, France v Belgium is nearly guaranteed to be a cracking game” – Kári Tulinius

Were you not listening/reading, Kári? But yes, I know what you mean.

Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé, Michael Olise, Désiré Doué and Lamine Yamal – all on same pitch. Hopefully Nico Williams is fit to start too.

Quarter-final results

• France 2-0 Morocco (Mbappé 60, Dembélé 66)

• Spain 2-1 Belgium (Ruiz 30, Merino 88; De Ketelaere 41)

And still to come …

• England v Norway, tomorrow night (10pm BST, 5pm EST)

• Argentina v Switzerland, tomorrow night (2am BST, 9pm EST)

Lamine Yamal wins man of the match. The physical and mental toll of having to keep up with him and monitor him seemed to have a real impact on Belgium. Doku was always back to help out De Cuyper, who was replaced by Seys after an hour when fresh legs (and minds) were needed. I’m sure Lucas Digne will be having a little less sleep tonight ahead of that semi-final.

“As a United fan, gutted for Lammens. I hope that doesn’t affect him when he gets back to club football. You have to remember Courtois made a similar error for the first goal” – Josh Keeling

A brutal introduction to World Cup football for Lammens. And a brutal way to possibly exit it for Courtois.

Mikel Merino does it again for Spain. The winning goal against Germany in the quarter-finals of Euro 2024, the winning goal against Portugal in the last 16 on Monday, and now the winning goal against Belgium here.

Spain are into a World Cup semi-final for just the second time in their history. Belgium cannot repeat their historic run of 2018 and many of their older players will not take to this stage again. Thibaut Courtois looks especially gutted having come off injured in the second half – his replacement, Senne Lammens, had a hand in Spain’s winning goal.

90+7 min Cucurella, for some reason, has a shot at goal from the edge of the box instead of going to the corner.

90+6 min Raskin swings a cross into the box and Lukaku tries to butt it goalwards. Merino gets in the way. Another cross comes in and Lukaku challenges Simón, who wins a foul after he flaps at it and drops it.

90+5 min More frustration for Belgium as Witsel is late on Rodri on halfway. His studs are up … it’s just a yellow.

90+4 min Laporte goes into the book for Spain. Saelemaekers floats the resulting free-kick into the box but Spain get it clear. The European champions allow the game to drift.

90+2 min Belgium aren’t done yet. Saelemaekers dribbles past an onrushing Simón to the byline inside the Spain box and sticks a cross into the box. Cubarsí hooks it clear with his boot and, with a slice of luck, straight into Simón’s hands.

90 min There will be seven minutes of added time for Belgium to rescue this.

It’s really messy from Lammens. Cubarsí’s shot bounces awkwardly in front of him but there’s not a lot of power behind it. Merino, a veritable poacher these days, is there first. The cameras pan to Courtois, slumped on the Belgium bench.

86 min Olmo’s afternoon is over and Mikel Merino, the hero of the previous round against Portugal, is on for Spain.

85 min Rodri clips a ball over Seys into Yamal’s path but he’s unlucky with his control, the ball bouncing off his standing leg, and Lammens comes out to gather. De Bruyne, still soldiering on, tries to lob Simón from about 50 yards. His shot is blocked.

De Bruyne goes into the book for wrestling his former City teammate Torres to the floor and then takes his leave. Alexis Saelemaekers comes on in his place.

83 min Spain try to shift up a gear. Pedri and Williams are combining with regularity down the left. Rodri is beginning to dominate midfield, with Witsel and Raskin happy to stand off and De Bruyne ready to come off.

81 min Williams’ first involvement sees him shift the ball on to his left foot and hook a cross out for a goal-kick. De Bruyne then tries to find Lukaku with a wayward pass and the midfielder hits the deck – it looks like it’s just cramp. He’s up again.

79 min Belgium are standing firm for now. Yamal tries to play a one-two with Torres and Ngoy gets a foot in at just the right time.

Here comes Nico Williams, on for Oyarzabal.

77 min Pedri switches the ball out to Yamal, who draws a couple of players before slipping Porro in with a backheel. The right-back’s cross is intercepted by Raskin before it reaches Oyarzabal or Olmo.

75 min Olmo feeds a cute ball into Oyarzabal between the Belgium centre-backs but the striker’s touch lets him down and he’s dispossessed. Again Belgium go long to Lukaku but the ball comes straight back.

73 min Lammens has proved that he is more than capable in a very solid first season at Manchester United. Yamal has another go at Seys down the Spain right but skews the cross out for a goal-kick.

70 min Play has resumed. Belgium punt it straight to Lukaku, who nods it down to Doku but there’s a foul by the Manchester City winger. Courtois is fine.

The longer it stays like this, the more confident Belgium will feel.

66 min It is tempting to say that Rudi Garcia has shown a lot of faith in 21-year-old Joaquín Seys up against Lamine Yamal, but the Spain winger is still three years his junior.

Courtois is down with some discomfort in his thigh. The physios come on. Now would be a good time to have a drinks break, Michael. And common sense has prevailed. Time for hydration.

64 min There’s a real tempo to this now, with quality on both sides. Seys does excellently to shield the ball out of play when Yamal tries to go past him. You’ll have another half an hour to get through, mate.

62 min Seys has come on at left-back and gets a taste of the action straight away as Yamal fronts him up and fizzes a shot at goal that a diving Courtois saves.

A Belgium break sees Raskin send a ball into the box. Laporte heads it into Rodri’s arm – nothing given – and Belgium appeal for a penalty.

Courtois then saves from Oyarzabal up the other end.

60 min Triple change for Belgium. Trossard, Vanaken and De Cuyper make way for Lukaku, Witsel and Seys.

58 min Yamal sends an inviting cross into the box and Courtois comes out to punch it, superman style.

Rudi Garcia responds to those Spain changes. Romelu Lukaku and Axel Witsel are stripped and ready. Yes, that Axel Witsel. He’s 37 now and without a club.

56 min Pedri and Ferran Torres are on for Spain, for goalscorer Fabián Ruiz and Baena.

55 min Doku and De Bruyne combine dangerously down the left. Doku’s pull-back is intercepted but the ball falls to De Cuyper, who rifles a shot into the side-netting. Very decent chance, that.

53 min The ball drops to Olmo on the edge of the area and he slices his half-volley way over the bar. Pedri and Ferran Torres are limbering up for Spain.

52 min Spain work it patiently out to Yamal, who darts inside again and again before feeding it back to Rodri, who starts the whole process again. This time Yamal swings his foot on the edge of the box and Mechele deflects it out for a corner.

50 min Doku wins a corner for Belgium after he and Laporte tangle out wide and the latter fails in his attempts to keep the ball in play. Michael Oliver spots a foul by Raskin in the box during De Bruyne’s corner.

48 min Simón comes quickly off his line to gather the ball after Doku’s attempted pass through bobbles just out of Trossard’s reach inside the area. Courtois does similarly well coming out to spread himself in front of Yamal, who is played in on goal by Cubarsí. The flag goes up anyway.

46 min Spain get the game restarted. A reminder: the winners of this one play France.

Spain and Belgium are back out in Los Angeles … but who’s going home?

Half-time mailbag …

“Feeling just a tad better seeing DeKetelare breaching the impermeable Spain defence after flooding our far more porous US defence. But not that much better” – Dan Weingrod

“The Bishopric of Liège was the only part of the Low Countries never conquered by the Spanish nor the Dutch. The only two Liégois players in the Belgian squad are sitting on the bench, Witsel and Theate. Bring ‘em on Rudi!” – Blaise Baquiche

“Lots of deserved plaudits for Lamine Yamal but for my money Dani Olmo is the Spanish winning talisman” – Joshua Reynolds

“Honestly, when Spain scored, I guessed that they’d just hypnotise Belgium with their passing & win 1-0. But that’s the first goal they’ve conceded in this entire tournament. All Belgium need to do now is throw Chadli & Fellaini on, just like against Japan in 2018” – Steven Grundy

In fairness, Belgium were 2-0 down to Japan in 2018. This was not quite that bleak.

After France v Morocco and Colombia v Switzerland, we were due a good game – and it looks like we’ve got one. Yes, Spain look more likely to get the next goal and Belgium are not doing a great job of keeping Lamine Yamal quiet, but it’s pretty competitive. Belgium have had their moments and have quality in the final third with Doku, Trossard, De Bruyne and De Ketelaere.

45+4 min Michael Oliver calls for medical attention right away as Olmo and Oyarzabal bang heads in the middle of the pitch. They’re both OK and Oyarzabal takes issue with the referee’s, well, hasty concern for his welfare.

45+2 min Mechele take drastic action as Olmo threatens to run in behind the Belgium defence, hooking the ball out for a corner. A second corner falls to Ruiz, whose shot is blocked. Olmo then intervenes crucially on halfway as Belgium threaten to break.

45 min Replays show Cucurella was playing De Ketelaere on for the goal as he tried to close down Castagne’s cross. The striker really caught Cubarsí out.

Porro spoons a left-footed shot high and wide. There are five added minutes.

43 min Castagne’s cross was excellent but it was De Bruyne who picked the lock for that goal. He fed the ball to the right-back at just the right time as Spain were struggling to deal with an overload on that side. De Ketelaere follows up his double against the USA.

Cubarsí goes into the book for tugging on De Bruyne’s shorts while on the ground, hanging on for dear life almost – Cubarsí and the shorts.

39 min Some frankly ridiculous one-touch passing from Spain in the final third ends with Oyarzabal trying to backheel the ball into Olmo’s path on the edge of the box. It’s snuffed out by that was nice, very nice.

37 min Baena tries to bring down a long ball over the Belgium defence but does so with his arm. The subsequent shot, saved by Courtois at his near post, matters not at all. It’s a free-kick.

36 min Baena dummies the free-kick and it’s Yamal who strikes it, low to the keeper’s side. Courtois gets down to save but pushes it back into the box. When Spain work the following corner across the edge of the area, Olmo runs straight into Michael Oliver, who looks very embarrassed indeed.

34 min Yamal teases De Cuyper and Doku, trying to draw a challenge as he sneaks into the area. The ball is recycled and a deeper Yamal skips past Doku again, this time winning a free-kick on the edge of the box in a very inviting position.

32 min The game is stopped as Castagne catches one in the face, I think off Cucurella who was challenging an aerial ball with Vanaken. There’s blood – he’ll probably have to change his shirt. The game goes on without him.

28 min It’s a scrappy restart to the game as Doku and De Bruyne threaten to combine down the Belgium left until Porro intervenes. Yamal uses the outside of his boot to stick a ball into the box … and into the gloves of Courtois.

After a bit of Shakira blasted over the loudspeakers, we are back under way.

More from Jeff live from the Los Angeles Stadium press box …

True to the custom of this World Cup-gone-Hollywood, the big screens have cycled through a handful of big names already. Javier Bardem is a real crowd-pleaser, trying to rile up the Spanish faithful. Brad Pitt and Noel Gallagher were a bit more demure, though Gallagher’s son snuck a flip of the bird in. Widespread approval of Issa Rae in a Coca-Cola adidas kit.

23 min Raskin misplaces another pass out of play and Michael Oliver sends the players off for a drink.

22 min Yamal has the first real attempt at goal, and in typical fashion. He jinks on to his left on the edge of the box and curls a shot wide of the far post. Porro, annoyingly, has his shoelaces untied as he takes a throw. Somebody tell him.

20 min Simón draws some gasps from the crowd as he waits until the last second before releasing the ball up against a pressing Vanaken. Porro brings it forward down the right but Yamal slips as he approaches the centred ball and fouls a Belgium defender in the process.

18 min Some space opens up for Spain but Porro sprays his crossfield ball just out of Baena’s reach and out for a goal-kick. Belgium are picking their moments to come forward and De Cuyper is pulled up for a foul on Porro at the back post as he tries to reach a cross.

16 min Doku gives Spain something to think about, shaking off Cubarsí and Porro before offloading the ball to De Ketelaere, whose shot is blocked.

Yamal gets the crowd similarly excited with a smart turn on the touchline to set Spain up for an attack that ends with Olmo failing to get the ball out of his feet to shoot inside the box.

14 min Cubarsí spots a gap in the Belgium defence and Baena runs on to his pass. The offside flag goes up as Baena scoops the ball into Ngoy and appeals for handball. That will have worried Rudi Garcia somewhat.

Jeff was doing some roaming outside the ground before kick-off …

The couple dozen Belgium fans I spoke with outside of Los Angeles Stadium spared me their versions of the Trump dance, but spoke with a sense of relief that they’d made it this far. Lots of pride that the turnover from the golden generation to whatever is to follow was so positive at this tournament, and emboldened by the returns of Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku to the lineup.

Then again, none stuck their necks out so far to say that they’d beat Spain today. The closest I got was a handful of remarks to the tune of “they won’t find us easy”. Free of pressure, at a minimum.

10 min Yamal drifts to the left wing and chases a ball down the side towards the corner flag. Trossard brings him down but escapes a yellow. The free-kick eventually falls to Rodri who spanks it towards goal – blocked by Ngoy.

8 min De Cuyper gets his first look at Yamal, booting the ball out for a throw-in after the teenager miscontrols a switch from Rodri. On the ball, De Cuyper is getting a lot of support from De Bruyne and Doku – Belgium may sense a weakness down Yamal’s side defensively.

6 min Doku wriggles through Porro and Olmo and spurs Belgium into action. De Bruyne and co don’t get much further than halfway before Spain win it back.

4 min Courtois punts a long kick out for a throw that Cucurella takes in his own half. Olmo turns away from his man beautifully on halfway and sets up an attack that Mechele is able to clear.

“Interestingly, that painting by Magritte is in the Reina Sofia,” points out Tom Schumacher.

2 min Belgium stifle Spain deep in the opposing half. Lamine Yamal tests their resolve and breaks through the press by going past a player or two and winning a foul.

We’ve had the anthems – the camera had to tip up to new angles to get Thibaut Courtois’ head in shot – and that weird Bocelli DJ song … kick-off is upon us.

Out of the tunnel emerge Spain, in red, and Belgium, again in their light blue-pink-white number inspired by René Magritte’s artwork. Grelots roses, ciels en lambeux – look it up and it’ll make a bit more sense.

Sid sends in a climate update from Los Angeles Stadium …

It’s quite hot under the roof because the sun is coming through and creating a greenhouse effect, so I am now sitting on the floor on the concourse below cooling down and letting my laptop cool down too, with thousands of people walking past.

There’s a lovely breeze down here, coming in the side of the stadium. Pity I can’t see the pitch from here or I might stay – back into the heat soon. (That said, this isn’t Dallas).

It’s lively but I wouldn’t call it atmosphere as such. Music and announcers but not fan noise really ... nice sense of occasion, though.

“Have Spain been slipping back into their boring mode where they seem to keep possession just for the sake of it, like they did following their second Euro championship win (and wasn’t tiki taka originally criticised as a negative, defensive tactic, i think by Clemente)?” writes David Wall.

“The addition of exciting wingers like Williams and Yamal provided a contrast in the last Euros, which was probably what made them so effective and exciting to watch, that they could attack in different ways. But with the wide players either injured or coming back from injury at the moment that variation seems to have been much reduced. If they can’t find it again do you think they can win the tournament? and would you want them to if they win it in a really sterile way?”

It does feel a bit familiar, doesn’t it? But Luis de la Fuente seems a little bit shackled by the fact that Nico Williams clearly isn’t fit and there have been doubts over Lamine Yamal too. He clearly doesn’t feel Victor Muñoz (a rapid winger) is ready and is having second thoughts about Ferran Torres (a quick striker) too. They’ve also not played any team that is going to come at them – Portugal might have done without a 41-year-old up front – so it makes sense so far. Maybe dropping Pedri for Fabián Ruiz is an admission that he wants to mix it up a bit today.

Matias Fernandez-Pardo is the Spanish name in the Belgium squad. The forward grew up in Belgium with a Spanish father and Italian mother – just two years ago he said he was “absolutely sure” he wanted to play for Spain at international level. The 21-year-old’s main asset is his pace and he can play off the wing or as a central striker. He came off the bench in each of Belgium’s group games.

Speaking of Belgium, their manager Rudi Garcia has been talking about “millions and millions” more people backing his team after the whole Balogun business in the last round.

The conditions will only be as difficult as they were in the round of 16. We had 12 million Belgium fans and now, over the last few days, I think we have millions and millions behind us; they have joined our ranks and I think that will be great. I think that will give us incredible strength. I don’t know what [the atmosphere] will be like in the stadium but we will concentrate on what we have to do. We have enough on our plate with the Spanish squad.

“I did my year abroad in Belgium and Germany in 2015/16, and my university in Germany had a big screen outside the canteen showing the Euros games,” writes Harry Desmond. “I have a vivid memory of being vastly outnumbered by Italy supporters during Belgium’s opening match. Since then, Les Diables Rouges have always been my favourites for tournaments after the UK teams.

“Other memories from that tournament included having to walk 3 miles home after Germany’s semi-final because the trams were too full, and cheering on Portugal in the final along with my Portuguese friends. It will probably always be my favourite football tournament, the communal/international experience is really something else.”

My year abroad was in Spain 2021-22, so I was denied a summer tournament there with Qatar being later in the year …

“Hola. Any word on Williams, is he fit?” asks Shane Cahill.

Seems not. He played a half of football altogether in the group stage and hasn’t made it off the bench in the knockouts. Álex Baena has had a good tournament playing on the left in his place and seems to offer Spain a bit more control when in possession. Maybe they’re waiting to unleash Williams against France.

Pau Cubarsí has also made a real difference alongside Aymeric Laporte …

Cubarsí in particular has been superb. For all the talk of Lamine Yamal, the kid who eclipses all else, it is the other teenager at the other end that has most impressed. Born in tiny Estanyol, a village with a population of around 200, the son of a carpenter who ran a family business going back four generations, Cubarsí is the second youngest man ever to make his debut for Spain. Lamine Yamal is the first. The day Cubarsí made his Barcelona debut, he and Lamine Yamal were younger than Robert Lewandowski put together.

There was something about him that was different from the start. “When I watch him, my heart rate doesn’t change,” Barcelona’s then-coach Xavi Hernández said. De la Fuente had given him his Spain debut and although he decided not to take him to the Euros, judging it a little soon, that calmness is clear here. “It doesn’t seem like he’s 19, the way he takes on responsibility is enviable,” Simón says. Cubarsí has completed 96% of his 449 passes, and not just sideways: 34 of his 71 against Portugal went into the opposition’s half. There were 19 recoveries, 23 defensive actions completed. Only Paolo Maldini reached as many clean sheets so fast.

Spain have made history in getting so far in a World Cup without conceding a goal.

As Sid Lowe says from Los Angeles, Unai Simón has had to fend off some very strong competition to keep the No 1 spot.

Not so long ago, Simón admitted that he had once wondered whether it was all worth it. Playing in goal, he says, can be a bit “thankless”. The front pages are for others. The good ones are, anyway: the “noise” was his. All year, he has been at the centre of the debate. How could he not be when Athletic Club were struggling and those competing with him are David Raya, the best goalkeeper in the Premier League, and Joan García, the best in La Liga? “Sod it, I’ll say it: we have the best goalkeepers at the World Cup,” Simón insisted a few days ago.

For Luis de la Fuente, though, it was never a debate, however insistent the noise got. He had coached Simón all the way through the youth teams, winning it all: the under-19 and under-21 Euros, Olympic silver, the Nations League, Euro 2024. They were practically family and now look: now Spain feel like Spain again and Simón has made history. No other country has ever reached the sixth game of a men’s World Cup without conceding.

An early dip into the mailbag …

“I hope the Belgians have been practicing their Trumpian tiny-fist dance since that USA game. It was the only disappointing aspect of an otherwise convincing performance. As for the Spanish, a red muleta celebration would be a fun provocation to the bull currently threatening to end all trade with them. He still might find himself handing them a big chuck of gold in nine days time” – Justin Kavanagh

“Good morning it’s 1:25 and I’m desperately trying to stay awake for the match. Shades of Qatar where the old sleep schedule went down the pan. I for one am hoping for a Belgium win. I have not enjoyed any of the Spain matches (apart from Cape Verde, snigger). I’m Costa Rican so I have no skin in the game as they say but I do have Norway in the sweepstakes. Thanks as always for the the great commentary and for so far keeping me awake!” – Alexandra Fullerton

I saw off my own sweepstake team by doing the minute-by-minute for Colombia 0-0 Switzerland (3-4 pens) the other day. I think I kept it together pretty well.

Spain and Belgium today meet for the first time in a decade – which is pretty impressive considering the invention of the Nations League. They last played in a friendly in September 2016, with Julen Lopetegui and Roberto Martínez taking charge of their respective teams for the first time. Belgium were booed off in Brussels as David Silva’s double earned Spain a 2-0 win.

The last time these two faced each other in a major tournament was Italia 90 – Alberto Górriz bagged the winner in Verona to send Spain through as group winners. Their only previous World Cup meeting was the quarter-final four years before that saw Belgium win on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Puebla.

Starting lineups are coming up shortly but Belgium’s preparations have involved a dispute with Sporting over the fitness of Zeno Debast. The centre-back was on the bench for the first time this World Cup against the USA after missing the start of the tournament with an injury. His club maintain that he is not fit to play and the Belgian FA said “this assessment differs from that of the Red Devils’ medical staff”. Belgium appear to have bowed to Sporting’s wishes and the FA said he would not play in this quarter-final.

As mentioned, an ominous France team await the winners of this one after they eased past a pretty meek Morocco in Boston yesterday.

Jonathan Wilson was there:

How can you stop France? You can defend with great organisation and concentration, block and tackle and harry and work, your keeper can make two or three excellent saves, and then one of their forwards conjures a goal like that.

And so was Raphaël Jucobin:

In his pre-match press conference, Deschamps conceded that his team could still improve in front of goal. “The better the quality of the opponent, the more clinical you have to be,” he underlined. As Les Bleus prepare to leave the east coast for the first time since their arrival in the US for their semi-final in Dallas, there is a sense that they will be leaving the comfort zone they have established both on and off the pitch.