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European champions Spain will try to set up a World Cup semifinal against France when they face Belgium in Friday's quarter-final at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
A Spanish victory would send them to Texas next Tuesday for a meeting with Kylian Mbappe's France, who booked their place by beating Morocco 2-0 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. But before that, Spain must get past a Belgium side that has built up momentum after a slow start to the tournament.
Spain have based their run on possession football and a defence that has not yet been beaten at this World Cup. In five matches, they have allowed only six shots on target, underlining the scale of Belgium's task in Los Angeles.
Although Spain have not shown the same attacking flair as France, their style has echoed the control that carried them to their only World Cup title in South Africa in 2010.
Lamine Yamal remains Spain's standout attacking name, but the Barcelona forward has had a quieter tournament than expected after arriving in the United States following a late-season injury. He has scored once in five games and turns 19 next week.
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said the team had not yet seen Yamal's best attacking version at this World Cup, adding that it had not reached the level they were used to seeing from him.
In his place, Mikel Oyarzabal has stepped up with four goals, including two in Spain's 3-0 win over Austria in the last 32 at SoFi Stadium.
Belgium entered the tournament looking heavy and short of rhythm, but Rudi Garcia's side have grown stronger as the World Cup has gone on.
Their comeback win over Senegal in the last 32 showed their resilience, with Youri Tielemans helping bring Belgium back from 2-0 down to win 3-2 after Romelu Lukaku came on as an impact substitute.
Belgium then swept aside the United States 4-1 in the last 16. That match was also marked by Donald Trump's intervention to have US striker Folarin Balogun's red card from the previous round cancelled, a move that appeared to energize Belgium. The players later gently mocked Trump with an on-field imitation of his Y.M.C.A. dance.
The quarter-final could be one of the final major World Cup moments for Belgium's so-called Golden Generation, a label often used for the country's group of high-profile veterans. That group includes Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.
Belgium are comfortable going into the match as underdogs. Garcia said everyone was already talking about Belgium going home, but added: "We think we can pull it off, and we're going to do everything we can to get to the semis."
France have already underlined their title credentials by turning a difficult-looking quarter-final against Morocco into a controlled 2-0 win.
Morocco were limited to few chances, while Mbappe recovered from a saved penalty to score his eighth goal of this World Cup and his 20th overall in the tournament. Ousmane Dembele then finished the job for France.
Mbappe later left the match and put an ice pack on his foot, but he quickly reassured France fans that the issue was not serious. He will now wait for either Spain or Belgium in the semifinal.
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