Onana ACL blow confirmed, Belgium land in LA for Spain quarter-final

Onana out of the World Cup, ACL rupture confirmed

Awful news. Amadou Onana's tournament is over. Team doctor Brahim Hacene confirmed the midfielder has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament (1) (3) (5). The injury happened during the round-of-16 win against the USA. Onana now faces months of rehabilitation. A massive blow before Spain.

Spain on Friday, 21:00 in Los Angeles

Your quarter-final is set. Belgium face Spain on Friday 10 July at 21:00 Belgian time in Los Angeles (2) (8). The squad has already arrived in LA, leaving their Seattle base camp behind. Romelu Lukaku was spotted in sunglasses on the tarmac. Nathan Ngoy got a pat-down at security (2) (6). The full quarter-final bracket: France vs Morocco, England vs Norway, Argentina vs Portugal, and Belgium vs Spain (8).

Belgian FA drops legal fight over Balogun case

The Belgian FA has decided not to pursue a legal battle with FIFA over the Folarin Balogun suspension saga (10) (11). The 4–1 win over the USA made the point on the pitch. Earlier in the week there had been signals the federation wanted to push further (4) (9). That fire has now gone out.

Lukaku skips training before LA move

Lukaku did not train in Seattle before the squad flew south (1) (6). No injury has been flagged. With Onana gone, every bit of squad management matters. Garcia is expected to fine-tune the setup that dismantled the USA.

Fan reactions

Fans are still buzzing after the 4–1 thumping of the USA. One thread highlights that FIFA quietly suspended two US Soccer officials just before that match, a detail that added to the chaos around the Balogun saga. The broader World Cup discourse is leaning into a "winners vs dark horses" narrative for these quarter-finals, and Belgium fans seem comfortable on the dark-horse side of that bracket. Read the discussion