World Cup 2026: Spain's record in the tournament quarter-finals

10.07.26 FT World Cup

Spain

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Belgium

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The second quarter-final of the World Cup pits Spain against Belgium. The clash is set for Friday, July 10, at 7:00 PM GMT in Los Angeles.

Spain has played in five quarter-finals in its history, with a record of four defeats and just one victory, not counting their advancement to the final group stage in the 1950 edition.

La Roja's first appearance at this stage ended in disappointment, knocked out by Italy in 1934. After an initial draw (1-1), the match was replayed, and the Spaniards fell (1-0).

In 1986, Spain was eliminated by the Red Devils (1-1, 5-4 on penalties) in a tightly contested quarter-final. The same fate awaited them in 1994 in the United States, where they lost to Roberto Baggio's Italy (2-1).

In 2002, Fernando Hierro and his teammates lost to hosts South Korea on penalties (0-0, 5-3 in the shootout) in one of the tournament’s biggest upsets.

Spain had to wait until the 2010 edition to finally break their quarter-final curse, claiming their first-ever win at this stage against Paraguay (1-0). That was also the year La Roja lifted their one and only World Cup trophy.

Spain's quarter-final history:

1934: Spain vs. Italy (0-1) – replayed match (1-1)

1986: Spain vs. Belgium (1-1, 4-5 on penalties)

1994: Italy vs. Spain (2-1)

2002: South Korea vs. Spain (0-0, 5-3 on penalties)

2010: Spain vs. Paraguay (1-0)

Imed Ben Amara |

Editorar, fr

Imed Ben Amara - bilingual sports writer and web editor with experience in football content creation. Since 2021, he has contributed to Foot Africa, providing news coverage and analysis.

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