Big Cat had Spain covered before kickoff, backing the favorites to advance with the over on goals at plus money (post-68183bd0-c550-4802-8a7d-3538a85d660b). Tommy Smokes went the other way entirely, declaring himself an honorary Belgian for the day and leaning into the underdog role with both flags flying. It set up the split-screen energy that defined the whole night: Spain as the machine that was supposed to win comfortably, Belgium as the scrappy crew nobody wanted to count out.
Spain did exactly what the bettors wanted early, breaking through in the 29th minute. Fabian Ruiz put the opener past Belgium's goalkeeper, and the Barstool Gambling account caught the goal live as it happened.
Spain strikes first, going up 1-0 on Belgium in the 29th minute.
Tommy Smokes wasn't ready to wave the white flag, reminding everyone that 1-0 is famously the worst lead in soccer for a reason (post-88057eb8-7ca1-40a3-bd84-901bc83cdf4f). Belgium proved him right, clawing back through Charles De Ketelaere to level things at 1-1, a moment Tommy celebrated in full patriotic mode with a Belgian national motto and everything (post-dd412d6c-716a-4f19-b25c-845721de9845).
Dave Portnoy spent the middle stretch flip-flopping in real time, first roasting his own team for even trailing this Belgium squad, then backpedaling to credit the physical Belgian forward who was bullying Spain's defense in the box (post-9357a1bb-2925-4549-88f7-0a586d816898, post-5f0bdd68-6344-4390-9b1c-1184ed36a0b8). By the second half he was questioning whether Lamine Yamal, Spain's teenage wonder, looked washed after getting overpowered on the ball (post-028f697f-2365-4d60-9758-e9e192b137bd). Big Cat, meanwhile, was already bracing for the worst, half-joking about Belgium sneaking another one through on a shaky sequence (post-58a5e1ab-2442-4775-b1e6-48074bfe7821).
Then Spain's bench bailed everyone out. Mikel Merino came on as a substitute and needed less than two minutes to make an impact, turning home a rebound after Belgium's keeper spilled a shot in the box. It was the kind of instant-impact sub appearance that decides World Cup knockout games, and it put Spain back in front for good in the 87th minute.
Spain retakes the lead late, going up 2-1 with just a few minutes left.
Belgium's night ended with an image that instantly went viral for the wrong reasons: a young fan in a Belgium jersey wiping away tears as the final minutes ticked off. Barstool Gambling and Barstool Sports both jumped on the clip, and it became the defining shot of the elimination, even as writers on the account leaned into gallows humor calling it a "generational meme" (post-2fd85792-2464-4db4-a208-cc620ff71a04).
A young Belgium fan breaks down as the 2-1 loss becomes official.
Belgium's run ends there, minus goalkeeper Thibault Courtois, who was forced off with an injury in the second half, and without captain Youri Tielemans, who never even started after getting hurt in warmups. Tommy Smokes closed the book on his adopted team with a nod to their earlier comeback win over Senegal in the tournament, a fittingly bittersweet sign-off for a run that ended one goal short (post-a5e7ebc2-a3ab-44f6-bbb1-29472f7366fa). Spain moves on to face France in the semifinal, and if Yamal's kid brother stealing scenes in the stands is any indication, the circus around this Spanish team is only getting bigger the deeper they go.