A tale of three goalkeepers and two substitutes. Until this quarterfinal against Belgium, Spain’s Unai Simon had gone 649 World Cup minutes without conceding a goal, a record run dating all the way back to the group stages in Qatar.At the other end, Thibaut Courtois’ World Cup was cut short when his body betrayed him. The 34-year-old left this game midway through the second half after clutching his thigh. Courtois was overcome with emotion. Could this be the last we see of him – and the other remaining survivors of Belgium’s golden generation – on football’s biggest stage?This quarterfinal hung in the balance when Courtois gave way for Senne Lammens. It was his World Cup debut and it soon turned into a nightmare for the Manchester United goalkeeper. Because, with extra time haring into view, he spilled a shot from teenage centre back Pau Cubarsi.Mikel Merino, who came off the bench to score a stoppage-time winner against Portugal in the last round, fired home the loose ball. He had only been on a couple of minutes. But he became the hero once more.And so Spain will face France in a mouthwatering semifinal next week, while Belgium head home with two goalkeepers nursing sore wounds.After the game, Courtois insisted ‘had no problem with staying in goal… only for long kicks’ but ‘the manager decided to take me off.’ Substitute Mikel Merino was Spain’s hero once more as they beat Belgium in dramatic fashion The midfielder scored with two minutes left after a dreadful error by Senne Lammens Manchester United goalkeeper Lammens had a World Cup debut to forget in this quarterfinalRudi Garcia defended his decision. ‘From the beginning of the World Cup I didn’t want players who weren’t 100 per cent,’ he said. ‘We didn’t want his injury to worsen either so I decided to sub him.’Never before had a country reached the sixth game of a men’s World Cup without being breached. But from back to front, with and without the ball, this Spain team suffocates opponents.En route to this quarterfinal, they had allowed just five shots on target. It took Belgium 41 minutes to add to that number. But they made it count.Charles De Ketelaere broke American hearts in the last 16 and here he hurt Spain, too, heading home shortly before halftime to bring Belgium level.Fabian Ruiz had been preferred in midfield to Pedri as Luis de la Fuente shuffled his pack and that tweak looked to have paid off when Ruiz put Spain in front. But in the end, they needed a helping hand to reach a first semifinal since 2010. No one needs reminding what Spain did that summer.It was still morning in Los Angeles when the wrinkling face of Michael Buffer appeared on the 360-degree screen of SoFi Stadium. The 81-year-old voice of boxing was beamed in to introduce the two teams and light the fuse ahead of this heavyweight rumble.By then, though, we were already a man down: Belgium captain Youri Tielemans had hurt himself in the warm-up.Neither Kevin De Bruyne nor Jeremy Doku started against America and their return here spoke surely to an acceptance that Belgium would see little of the ball. So whenever Spain did cough it up, Garcia needed as much individual brilliance on the pitch as possible. Thibaut Courtois appeared overcome with emotion after coming off injured in the second half Fabian Ruiz had given Spain a first-half lead before they conceded a first goal of the World Cup Charles De Ketelaere levelled the game for Belgium, beating Unai Simon with a header It took all of a few minutes for the die to be cast: Spain set up camp inside the Belgium half, while their opponents searched for a way to stem the tide. Early on, Doku’s quivering feet appeared to be about Belgium’s only avenue out.In fairness, they did stifle Spain for much of the first half. For all their possession and control, De la Fuente’s side created very little. A Mexican Wave went round SoFi Stadium before we had reached the first hydration break.Unfortunately for Belgium, the dam burst shortly after they took on water. Ruiz made no mistake after Dani Olmo’s shot was palmed into his path by Courtois.Belgium had been carved open by Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro and, after taking the lead, Spain threatened to move through the gears. Then, out of nowhere, De Ketelaere equalised.It was Belgium’s first effort on target from virtually their first sustained spell in Spain territory. De Ketelaere beat Cubarsi to Timothy Castagne’s cross.That put Spain in uncharted waters at this tournament: how would De la Fuente’s side react to conceding? Merino, who also scored a late winner against Portugal, celebrates his goal in Los AngelesWell, they simply picked up where they left off – poking and probing around the Belgium area.But as time ticked by, as both coaches turned to their bench, this game began to open up and Belgium had chances too.Maxim De Cuyper fired into the side netting shortly before the ball struck Rodri’s arm inside the penalty area. Belgium’s penalty appeals were waved away by Michael Oliver.Then, with no warning, Courtois went down and Lammens, 24, became the first goalkeeper other than the Real Madrid star to play for Belgium at the World Cup since 2002. Before long, though, this became a debut to forget.’It is crazy to be able to help the team once again, this time in a different way, but at the same time believing, trusting that a mistake by the rival goalkeeper can happen and being attentive,’ Merino said.