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Spain will face Belgium on Friday 10 July at the Los Angeles Stadium in a quarter-final match as both teams look to advance to the semi-finals.
Spain reached the last eight by defeating Austria, 3-0, in the round of 16, before emerging from a tight last-16 tie against Portugal with a stoppage-time winner from Mikel Merino.
Belgium reached this point with a miraculous 3-2 comeback win against Senegal, winning in extra time after being 2-0 down in the 86th minute. Two late goals pushed the game into extra time before Youri Tielemans scored the winner from the penalty spot.
Belgium followed that up with a commanding 4-1 win over the USA in the Round of 16, progressing to the Round of 16 after a weak start to the World Cup.
Who are the WC referees for Spain vs. Belgium?
If you’re a fan of the Premier League, you’re more likely than not familiar with the center official for the Spain v Belgium match: the very experienced Michael Oliver.
(Photo by Grzegorz Wajda/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
This is Oliver’s second World Cup and his fourth assignment at this tournament. He has already been an official for Holland-Sweden, Norway-France and Canada-Morocco, with the Canada-Morocco match coming in the round of 16. Oliver is a highly experienced referee who has worked on high-stakes domestic matches in England as well as prestigious Champions League matches at club level.
His assistants will be fellow English officials Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring, while the fourth official will be Brazil’s Ramon Abatti.
Judge: Michael Oliver (England)
Assistant Referee 1: Stuart Burt (England)
Assistant Referee 2: James Mainwaring (England)
Fourth Official: Ramon Abatti (Brazil)
