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King of the Belgians Philippe visited and cheered for the Belgium men's national team ahead of their FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-final clash against Spain on Friday (local time) at Los Angeles Stadium. The team shared a dinner with the monarch, presented him with a signed jersey and also posed for a selfie with him.
The Belgian Red Devils uploaded multiple pictures of the team with King Philippe, ahead of the quarter-final clash. In a video uploaded by the Belgian Red Devils on X, King Philippe praised the Belgian team's performance and wished them success ahead of their quarter-final, expressing confidence in their victory. "A few days ago, I watched your match together with my daughter. We stayed up until 2:00 a.m. to watch you play. It was magnificent. I have just one message for you for tomorrow: Tomorrow, we have to win! And I'm sure that will happen! It depends on you! Thank you very much," he said. "Ahead of our quarter-final against Spain, the King visited the squad to show his support for the Red Devils," the Belgian Red Devils captioned the X posts. Belgium reached the quarter-finals after a mixed group-stage campaign, drawing 1-1 with Egypt and playing out a goalless draw against Iran before securing a 5-1 win over New Zealand. They then edged past Senegal 3-2 in the Round of 32 and defeated co-hosts USA 4-1 in the Round of 16 to book their place in the last eight. Spain, meanwhile, head into the quarter-final in formidable form. The reigning European champions are yet to concede a goal at the tournament, having kept a record six consecutive FIFA World Cup clean sheets. After topping Group H, they eliminated Austria in the Round of 32 before edging past Portugal in the Round of 16 to reach the last eight. While Spain will be aiming to punch their ticket to the final four of the FIFA World Cup for the first time since their championship-winning run in 2010, the 2018 bronze medal holders Belgium will be aiming to reach the semifinals, with Romelu Lukaku, Kevin de Bruyne and other veterans playing a crucial role leadership-wise. (ANI)
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