INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Belgium captain Youri Tielemans was a late scratch from Belgium’s lineup for their World Cup quarterfinal match against Spain on Friday.
The Aston Villa midfielder was listed in Rudi Garcia’s starting XI when the lineups came out, but he picked up an undisclosed injury during warmups and was replaced by Hans Vanaken when the players took the field at SoFi Stadium.
– Follow live: Spain, Belgium meet in quarterfinal; France await winner
Tielemans had been a key player for Belgium in their run to the quarterfinals, featuring in every match during the group stage and scoring twice in a dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Senegal in the round of 32.
He also started for Belgium in their round-of-16 win to eliminate co-hosts the United States.
Vanaken came on as a substitute and scored a goal in Belgium’s 4-1 thrashing of the U.S. on Monday. He replaced Amadou Onana, who has been ruled out for the rest of the World Cup with a torn knee ligament.
Belgium have also played the World Cup without defender Zeno Debast, who has a leg injury and has been held out of action by his club, Sporting CP.
In addition to the switch for the injured Tielemans, Garcia also brought Kevin De Bruyne and Jérémy Doku back into his XI after the pair started from the bench in the win over the U.S.
The winner of Friday’s game between Spain and Belgium will face France in the semifinals in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
