France did what France does. They handled Morocco 2-0 on Tuesday and booked their spot in the semifinals in Dallas. Now they wait. And the wait might be the most interesting part of this whole thing.
Spain and Belgium meet Thursday in Los Angeles with a trip to face France on the line. Two teams. Two completely different paths to get here. One of them is about to find out if they’re ready for the world champions.
Here’s what you need to know for July 10.
The Matchup
Spain vs Belgium. 3 p.m. Eastern on FOX and Telemundo. The odds say Spain is the clear favorite at -360 to advance. Belgium is at +270. But odds don’t tell you everything.
Spain hasn’t conceded a single goal in this tournament. Five matches. Zero goals allowed. Their aggregate score is 9-0. Yeah, they beat Saudi Arabia 4-0 and Austria 3-0. Against Cape Verde, Uruguay and Portugal? The combined score was 2-0. That’s not a fluke.
Belgium just dropped four goals on the USMNT. Romelu Lukaku looked like a man possessed. Jeremy Doku was unplayable. But that game came with some weird external stuff.
The Trump Factor
So here’s the thing nobody planned for. Donald Trump got involved in the Folarin Balogun situation. The US president made some comments. The Belgian players responded by doing the Trump Dance after scoring. It was bizarre and electric and maybe the spark this team needed.
Before that game Belgium looked average. They drew with Egypt and Iran. Beat New Zealand. Needed a late comeback against Senegal. They were fine but nobody was scared of them.
Then they blew out the US and suddenly everyone remembers this is a team with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku and some serious talent. The question is whether that was a one-off or if something actually clicked.
Does This Game Matter?
Let’s be honest. France is sitting there waiting. They dismantled Morocco like it was nothing. Kylian Mbappe is doing Mbappe things. The defending champions look like they’re peaking at the right time.
But yeah this game matters. If Belgium wins they carry real momentum into that semifinal. They proved they can score in bunches. Against Spain’s defense that would be a statement. And if they can score on Spain maybe they can hang with France too.
If Spain wins we get the matchup everyone predicted in the preseason. France’s attack against Spain’s defense. The irresistible force versus the immovable object. It might not be end-to-end chaos but for people who actually understand soccer it’ll be fascinating to watch.
Spain vs Belgium in a quarterfinal with France waiting. Two teams with everything to prove and nothing to lose except their World Cup dreams.
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