Belgium's celebrated squad depth was always a myth, and Spain just proved it on the biggest stage. A 2-1 quarter-final defeat, decided by Mikel Merino's 88th-minute goal, exposed the structural flaw Belgium's admirers have spent years explaining away.

Spain pressed De Bruyne 12 or more times in the first half alone, and his pass completion dropped to 62%. That is not a bad night from a great player; that is a system collapsing at its load-bearing wall.

When De Bruyne was neutralised, Belgium's so-called depth stepped in and delivered 78% pass completion under pressure from Tielemans and Witsel. That number sounds fine until you remember that Spain's press was designed to force exactly those passes, from exactly those players, into exactly those low-danger zones.

Spain, meanwhile, have kept five clean sheets in this tournament, building defensive structure that does not simply sit back but actively funnels opponents into pre-set traps. Belgium's 55% possession and three clear chances created is the statistical proof that dominating the ball means nothing when the press dictates where that ball goes.

The counter-argument is that Belgium's loss reflects a tactical failure in setup rather than a fundamental squad problem, and that their 4-1 demolition of the USA shows real depth across the group. One result against a team that does not press with Spain's precision does not validate a midfield architecture that has no secondary playmaker of international class.

This is not a one-tournament problem; teams built around a single elite playmaker without a genuine second creator have failed at this level before. France's 2010 midfield crisis followed the same blueprint: isolate the fulcrum, and the rest of the structure has no answer.

Spain reach the semi-finals of the 2026 tournament as the best-organised side left in the draw, and they will win it. Belgium leave having confirmed what the data showed all along: depth without a second playmaker is just width.

This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team.