Mikel Merino continued his remarkable impact off the bench by firing Spain into the FIFA World Cup 2026 semifinals with another decisive late goal, as La Roja edged Belgium 2-1 in their quarterfinal at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Friday. Introduced in the 86th minute, the Spain midfielder needed only two minutes to make the difference. Merino capitalised on a rebound in the 88th minute to score what proved to be the winning goal, sending the 2010 world champions into the last four, where they will face France. The strike came just days after the 30-year-old produced another dramatic cameo in the Round of 16. Against Portugal, Merino was also brought on from the bench before scoring the only goal of the contest in stoppage time to seal Spain’s passage to the quarterfinals. Those two interventions have now earned Merino a place in FIFA World Cup history. He is the first player to score the winning goal as a substitute in two different knockout matches at a single World Cup. He has also become the first footballer to score two match-winning goals for Spain at a FIFA World Cup from the 80th minute onwards. Despite appearing in all six of Spain’s matches at the tournament, Merino has been named in the starting XI only once. The midfielder has made five appearances as a substitute, underlining his growing reputation as Spain’s game-changing option from the bench. His only start of the tournament came against Uruguay on June 26 at Estadio Akron in Zapopan, where he played 60 minutes before being substituted. Against Belgium, Spain had taken the lead in the 30th minute when Fabian Ruiz converted after Thibaut Courtois parried Dani Olmo’s effort following an attacking move sparked by Lamine Yamal and Pedro Porro. Belgium restored parity before the break as Charles De Ketelaere headed home Timothy Castagne’s cross in the 41st minute. The goal ended Spain’s run of six successive World Cup clean sheets and brought an end to goalkeeper Unai Simon’s World Cup streak of 650 consecutive minutes without conceding. The Red Devils suffered a major setback in the 71st minute when Courtois was forced off through injury after his 21st FIFA World Cup appearance, leaving him second only to Germany legend Manuel Neuer among goalkeepers for World Cup appearances. Spain finally found the breakthrough late on when Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort was spilled by substitute goalkeeper Senne Lammens. Merino reacted quickest to the loose ball and tapped home from close range, delivering yet another knockout-stage winner. The victory sent Spain into their first FIFA World Cup semifinal since lifting the trophy in South Africa in 2010 and stretched their unbeaten run in regular time to 36 matches, a streak dating back to a friendly defeat against Colombia in 2024.
