Spain beat Belgium 2–1 in an extremely close match and secured their place in the World Cup semi-finals, where they will face France.

Sixteen years on, the national team is once again among the top four in a World Cup tournament. The last time they achieved this was at South Africa 2010, a tournament in which they went on to lift the trophy.

The hero of the day was once again Mikel Merino. The midfielder produced his usual magic towards the end of the match to score the winning goal and send the Spanish fans into a frenzy.

However, the path to victory began to take shape on the drawing board. Luis de la Fuente surprised everyone by selecting Fabián Ruiz in the starting line-up in place of Pedri, a risky move that ultimately proved to be the right call.

The PSG player not only managed the midfield with great judgement, but also opened the scoring to justify the manager’s faith in him.

With this result, Fabián Ruiz, who was nominated for the ‘Ballon d'Or’ in 2025, extended an impressive record: he has now played 48 matches for the senior national team and has never tasted defeat.

Whenever he plays, Spain don’t lose. Yes… He has practically become a sort of talisman for the Spanish national team since he played his first international match.

Fabián Ruiz’s statistics for the Spanish national team

To put the scale of his run in the national team into perspective, one need only look at his impressive statistics:

  • Matches played: 48

  • Wins: 33

  • Draws: 15

  • Defeats: 0

  • Goals scored: 7

The man for the big goals

Beyond his unbeatable form and his ability to control the midfield, Fabián Ruiz has developed a special knack for scoring crucial goals.

He is not a regular goalscorer, but when he does score, he leaves an indelible mark.

The most recent memory is from Euro 2024, a tournament in which he established himself as one of the standout players of the competition.

In that tournament, he scored a spectacular goal against Croatia in the opening match and struck again in the round of 16 against Georgia with a crucial header to kick-start the comeback.

This goal against Belgium in the World Cup quarter-finals adds to his list of clinical finishes.

Spain are celebrating their qualification thanks to Merino’s last-gasp goal, but they know that having Fabián Ruiz on the pitch is, statistically speaking, their greatest asset.

Next up is France, perhaps the top contender to lift the 2026 World Cup trophy.

It will, without a doubt, be a high-tension clash between two powerhouses who will be giving their all to add another star to their trophy cabinet.

Will Fabián play against the French side to keep the streak going?