Courtois in tears as Spain edge Belgium 2-1, AFA hacked and Peru’s Haaland baby-name boom | OneFootball

Spain knocked out Belgium 2-1 to reach the World Cup semi-finals, as Thibaut Courtois left the pitch in tears. Elsewhere, Argentina’s federation faced a cyber breach and Peru embraced a Haaland baby-name boom.

According to Le Progres, 468 Peruvian newborns have been named Haaland this year, with numbers rising during the World Cup. He has seven goals, the latest eliminating Brazil in the last 16.

In Los Angeles, first-half efforts from Fabian Ruiz and Charles de Ketelaere left the tie level at the break, with Unai Simon conceding his first goal of the tournament to end a 649-minute run.

Courtois went off injured on 71 minutes, replaced by Senne Lammens. A mistake from the substitute allowed Mikel Merino to settle it on 88 minutes.

Spain face France in the last four, a repeat of the Euro 2024 semi-final. It is La Roja’s first World Cup semi-final since 2010.

Lamine Yamal said Spain have beaten Didier Deschamps’s side in their last two competitive meetings and that they do not fear France. Courtois, 34, said he wants a pause from Belgium duty and that Friday might have been his last match if the federation refuse.

Journalists received an email posing as AFA, attacking François Letexier’s refereeing in the 3-2 win over Egypt and echoing Egyptian complaints. Early indications pointed to an Egyptian group breaching part of the AFA database.

The federation denied sending it, urged recipients to ignore unusual messages and said checks were under way after possible unauthorised access.

Source: Le Progres