Mikel Merino netted the winner late on as Spain eked out Belgium 2-1 to reach the World Cup semi-finals. The European champions were the better of the two sides at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, but they were troubled at times by the pace of Jeremy Doku and the ingenuity of the returning Kevin De Bruyne. Fabian Ruiz, who had controversially replaced Pedri in the Spanish midfield, opened the scoring in the first half, gobbling up a rebound from a Dani Olmo shot that Thibaut Courtois had spilled. The Red Devils were level, though, as Charles De Ketalaere, the AC Milan man, got ahead of his man at the near post to glance beyond Unai Simon and score the first goal past Spain at this summer’s tournament. In tears: Thibaut CourtoisAFP/GettyLamine Yamal tested Courtois while top score