Super-sub Mikel Merino became a hero once again, scoring a dramatic 88th-minute winner to fire Spain into the World Cup semi-finals with a thrilling 2-1 win over Belgium on Friday.Spain will now face tournament favorites France in a blockbuster semi-final clash in Dallas on Tuesday. “It will be a clash of giants,” said Spanish coach Luis De La Fuente after the match.The decisive moment came just two minutes after Merino entered the field. In the 88th minute, Pau Cubarsí unleashed a powerful long-range strike. Substitute Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens grabbed the rebound, allowing the Arsenal forward to charge and slot the ball home with just his second touch of the match. Merino had previously scored a 91st minute winner against Portugal in the Round of 16.It was a heartbreaking end for Belgium, who lost star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois to a thigh injury in the 71st minute. Courtois left the field in tears and was replaced by Lammens.Earlier, Spain broke the deadlock in the 30th minute. Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro combined brilliantly down the right flank to set up Dani Olmo. While Courtois blocked Olmo’s initial shot, Fabián Ruiz was perfectly placed to hammer home the rebound. Ruiz was a surprise inclusion in the starting eleven, replacing Pedri.Spain’s defensive resilience was on full display, having kept five consecutive clean sheets prior to this match. Goalkeeper Unai Simón had broken a world cup record 650 minutes without conceding. However, this historic streak ended in the 41st minute, when Belgian Charles De Ketelaere muscled past Cubarsí to head home Timothy Castagne’s accurate cross.Belgium suffered pre-match blows with Amadou Onana injured and skipper Youri Tielemans pulled out during warm-ups, although Kevin De Bruyne is back in the lineup. Despite a desperate late surge led by Romelu Lukaku, Aymeric Laporte made a crucial acrobatic free in stoppage time to seal victory for Spain.With this victory, Spain extended their incredible unbeaten run to 37 matches, while Belgium’s 18-match unbeaten streak ended.