NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Spain will face Belgium on Friday July 10 at Los Angeles Stadium in the quarter-finals, as both teams look to advance to the semi-finals.
Spain reached the round of 16 by beating Austria, 3-0, in the round of 16, before emerging from a tight round of 16 match against Portugal thanks to a stoppage-time winner from Mikel Merino.
Belgium reached this point with a miraculous 3-2 victory over Senegal, winning in extra time after being 2-0 down in the 86th minute. Two late goals sent the match into extra time, before Youri Tielemans scored the winner from the penalty spot.
Belgium followed with a crushing 4-1 victory over the United States in the round of 16, advancing to the round of 16 after a lackluster start to the World Cup.
Who are the referees for the Spain-Belgium World Cup?
If you’re a Premier League fan, you probably know the central referee of the Spain-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 appearance in this tournament. He has already been an official for the Netherlands-Sweden, Norway-France and Canada-Morocco matches, with the Canada-Morocco match 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 Englishmen Stuart Burt and James Mainwaring, while the fourth referee will be Brazilian Ramon Abatti.
Arbitrator: Michael Oliver (England)
Assistant referee 1: Stuart Burt (England)
Assistant referee 2: James Mainwaring (England)
Fourth official: Ramon Abatti (Brazil)
