- Recent form (Spain): Spain have won four and drawn one of their last five games, beating Austria 3-0 before grinding out a 1-0 win over Portugal.
- Recent form (Belgium): Belgium have also won three and drawn two of their last five, beating New Zealand, Senegal (AET) and the USA.
- Players to watch: Kevin De Bruyne remains Belgium's chief conductor and is the main man behind Belgium's counter-attacking style, which can unlock compact defenses.
Spanish control meets Belgian pace at Los Angeles Stadium
Spain
That price seems a bit low on the Spanish, who have been playing at a fantastic level since taking over the helm on 8 December 2022. Luis de la Fuente's side have played a controlled, possession-based style which relies on short passing, rotation of players and overloading the wings to wear teams down and counter-attack where possible.
In addition to the quality of the Spaniards in general, the goal-scoring contributions of Mikel Oyarzabal make them particularly dangerous right now.
Mikel Oyarzabal has scored two goals in two games in the 2026 World Cup and three of Spain's last eight goals in their five most recent outings.
Belgium
Belgium are a different proposition altogether. Rudi Garcia's flexible 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 hybrid system relies on selective pressing and quick transitions, particularly with De Bruyne at the wheel. The Manchester City midfielder can unlock any defense with one pass between the lines and his side are capable of being incredibly dangerous when Spain's press is bypassed, either through De Bruyne's genius or the pace of their out wide options.
Spain to grind out a close win
Garcia's rotation of Romelu Lukaku or Charles De Ketelaere in the striker role gives the Red Devils a blunt, direct threat when the game does open up, and this should be an interesting chess match of control vs pace.
- A 1-0 win over Portugal was their most impressive result to date, but they have averaged 1.80 goals per game and conceded just 0.40 per match on average.
- Belgium have a similarly good unbeaten record across all competitions (W7, D3) over their last 10, but have averaged a hefty 3.30 goals per-game across that run – 33 total.
