Belgium suffered a major blow just before kickoff of its World Cup quarterfinal against Spain on Friday, July 11.
Youri Tielemans, Belgium’s captain and lynchpin in midfield, was injured during warm-ups and had to be replaced in the lineup by Hans Vanaken.
Video of warm-ups shows Tielemans playing the ball around and then walking gingerly over to Belgium medical staff.
Tielemans, 29, started all five of Belgium’s matches at the World Cup prior to Friday’s game in Inglewood, California. The Aston Villa midfielder scored two goals against Senegal in the round of 32, helping Belgium to a dramatic 3-2 comeback win.
Vanaken, 33, has also played in all five World Cup games for Belgium, starting four straight after his last-minute inclusion against Spain.
The Club Brugge midfielder notched a goal and an assist as Belgium beat the United States 4-1 in the round of 16.
The injury to Tielemans hits an already thin Belgium midfield, with Amadou Onana out after tearing his ACL during the match against the USA.
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All games are being broadcast in the United States on Fox and FS1. Matches will also be broadcast in Spanish throughout the entirety of the World Cup on Telemundo and streaming on Peacock .
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The World Cup becomes a single-elimination tournament once the knockout stage begins. The 32 remaining teams have been placed into a bracket, and the field will halve itself during each ensuing round of the tournament until a winner is crowned.
The lone exception is that the two semifinal losers will play in a third-place game ahead of the World Cup final.
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