Vanaken and Lukaku fire Belgium past USA, Spain await Friday

Vanaken and Lukaku send Belgium past USA 1–3

Quarter-final. Your team is through. Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku delivered a 1–3 win over the United States in the round of 16 on Wednesday, and Belgium never really looked in danger (1) (3). 1.6 million Belgians tuned in through the night, a record for that timeslot (1). The scoreline undersells how controlled it was. Vanaken's goal was the peak moment of a night that broke records across every platform (3).

Spain on Friday, Unai Simon hasn't conceded in 609 minutes

Next up: Spain in the quarter-final, Friday at 21:00 Belgian time (2) (5) (6). Their goalkeeper Unai Simon has gone 609 minutes without conceding a goal at this World Cup (2) (5). That is your team's problem to solve. The good news: Lukaku is the most efficient striker at the tournament (2). An English top referee has been assigned to the match (4).

De Bruyne: not 100%, but the panel says you need him

Kevin De Bruyne is not fully fit. Analysts on the HLN Voetbalpodcast made the case bluntly: "You need his ingenuity and genius against Spain" (6). Rudi Garcia has already shown he can set up this side to thrive without De Bruyne in the engine room, but the quarter-final is different. The question is whether he starts or comes off the bench.

Leo Van der Elst remembers 1986, the penalty that beat Spain

Belgium vs. Spain in a World Cup quarter-final. It happened once before, in 1986, and Leo Van der Elst won it from the spot. "I was as white as paper," he recalled (8). He buried it anyway.

Fan reactions

The mood among supporters is expectant, almost impatient. The Trossard-to-Beşiktaş noise, an €18m plus €2m deal reportedly agreed with Arsenal, has fans treating it as a formality, the phrase "after Belgium goes out" is being thrown around without much pushback. Read the full thread here.