He has already taken aim at US President Donald Trump and FIFA at this World Cup, not to mention defending himself against allegations of racism, so a quarter-final against Spain won’t worry Belgium boss Rudi Garcia.Garcia was the coach caught up in the storm surrounding Folarin Balogun’s red card and the decision to allow the USA striker to face Belgium in the last round.On learning of FIFA’s U-turn brought about by Trump’s intervention, Garcia said wryly: ‘I didn’t know that at the World Cup, the Fifth of July is actually the First of April – it’s April Fools!’Belgium won that game 4-1, just as they had overcome Senegal 3-2 with an incredible late comeback in the round of 32.Once again, Garcia had to deal with the political fallout. He was forced to deny that his post-match comment about ‘these teams’ struggling to keep a lead at the highest level was aimed at African sides in general.The win over Senegal in Seattle proved to be a turning point for Garcia as Belgium came from two goals down in the 86th minute to force extra-time and win with a 125th-minute penalty from captain Youri Tielemans. Rudi Garcia has faced criticism but has guided Belgium to the quarter-finals of the World CupSince his appointment in January of last year, fans have been underwhelmed by the 62-year-old Frenchman and questioned why their country needed another foreign head coach.The scepticism wasn’t helped by a difficult qualifying campaign followed by draws with Egypt and Iran in the opening two games at the World Cup. A 5-1 win over New Zealand saw Belgium top Group G, but still didn’t win over the critics.Then, when Garcia and his Red Devils were staring down the barrel of a gun against Senegal, his bold decision to take off star men Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku in a double substitution paid off spectacularly with two quick goals at the end.’In five minutes, he went from a madman to a genius,’ said one Belgian football insider.Garcia also benched De Bruyne and Doku for the win over the USA, having previously taken reporters to task for disrespecting De Bruyne by saying he should be dropped.Doku, meanwhile, was grateful for Garcia’s support when he was criticised in some quarters for missing the Iran game when he returned to Europe for three days to be at the birth of his first child.The players are behind their manager and on board with his rotation policy and tendency to make early substitutions. It includes Romelu Lukaku who has made a huge impact off the bench, scoring three times and forcing one own-goal despite not starting a single match for Napoli last season due to a thigh injury.In fact, Belgium have set a new record at this World Cup with substitutes making nine goal contributions by scoring five and assisting on four more.’He doesn’t look at names. That proves that everyone needs to be ready,’ said defender Timothy Castagne.So Garcia’s line-up and tactics for the quarter-final against Spain in Los Angeles on Friday night is anyone’s guess. Garcia took aim at Donald Trump over the controversial decision to suspend Folarin Balogun’s one-game banThe man whose grandparents fled Andalusia during the Spanish Civil War must find a way past a team that has yet to concede a goal in five games in the tournament if what remains of Belgium’s golden generation are to have one last shot at glory after a group-stage exit in Qatar four years ago.Garcia said: ‘For six years, maybe longer, Belgium topped the FIFA rankings. The team dubbed the golden generation were tipped as the frontrunners to win at both Russia 2018 and Qatar 2022, but ultimately fell short on both occasions.’The picture is very different these days. We’ll just be the underdogs, but I don’t mind that – in fact, I prefer it.’How much is David Beckham set to pocket from his World Cup brand deals? Take on our quiz in our newsletter HERE.