Lamine Yamal said if Spain wins the World Cup, nobody will care about his failure to score, after the teen superstar was again absent from the scoresheet in his side's 2-1 quarter-final win over Belgium on Saturday.

Mikel Merino, who smashed in the World Cup quarterfinal winner against Belgium in the 88th minute on Saturday, said it was "surreal" to have scored a late winner in two straight knockout games for Spain.

Mikel Merino is becoming the player who finds the net exactly when Spain need him most, and the substitute did it for a second straight knockout tie as La Roja beat Belgium 2-1 in a World Cup quarterfinal in Los Angeles today.

Super sub Mikel Merino broke Belgian hearts and sent Spain through to a World Cup semi-final against France with a late goal in a gripping 2-1 win on Friday.

Will Spain continue to impress or can the Belgians stun them to make the semis?

When Thibaut Courtois steps onto the pitch against Spain in Los Angeles on Saturday, it will be more than a World Cup quarterfinal.

During the build-up to the 2026 World Cup, this was expected to be the tournament where teenage sensation Lamine Yamal would dazzle on the biggest stage, carrying on the breathtaking form he has shown for Barcelona in recent years.