INGLEWOOD, Calif. – In a dramatic first half of the second 2024 FIFA World Cup quarterfinal match at SoFi Stadium on Friday, Charles De Ketelaere’s 41st-minute header ended Spain’s record-breaking 650-minute shutout streak across World Cup play, leaving the two European sides locked in a 1-1 draw heading into the halftime break.
Spain, which entered the quarterfinal after holding its opponents scoreless through five consecutive matches at this year’s tournament, struck first in the 30th minute through midfielder Fabián Ruiz. The opening goal capped a sequence of sharp build-up play on the right flank: young winger Lamine Yamal and fullback Pedro Porro worked the ball forward to Dani Olmo, whose initial on-target shot was parried away by Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. The rebound fell directly into the path of Ruiz, who fired a powerful shot into the net to record his first goal of the 2024 World Cup.
Ruiz’s opening strike marked a notable win for Spanish head coach Luis De La Fuente, who made a surprise tactical tweak to his starting lineup by starting Ruiz in place of regular starter Pedri. De La Fuente’s side has remained unbeaten in international play since March 2023, and had not conceded a single goal across all of its World Cup play dating back to the 2022 Qatar World Cup – a 650-minute shutout streak that set a new all-time tournament record, until De Ketelaere’s equalizer.
The Belgian forward, who notched two goals in the Red Devils’ 4-1 dominant win over co-hosts the United States earlier this week, broke through after powering past 17-year-old Spanish defender Pau Cubarsí to meet a cross from Timothy Castagne, nodding the ball into the net to level the score. Before De Ketelaere’s goal, Belgium had failed to produce any clear, high-quality scoring chances in the opening 40 minutes of the match.
The match already faced late disruption even before kickoff, when Belgian captain Youri Tielemans suffered an injury during pre-match warmups and was forced to withdraw from the starting lineup. He joins key midfielder Amadou Onana on the sidelines for Belgium, though star playmaker Kevin De Bruyne was able to recover from injury and retain his place in the starting eleven.
The winner of this tightly contested quarterfinal will book a spot in the World Cup semifinal, where they will face tournament favorite France next Tuesday in the Dallas area.