Mikel Merino is starting to make a habit out of saving Spain at the biggest moments. The Arsenal midfielder came off the bench for the second straight knockout game and scored the winner against Belgium in Los Angeles, sending La Roja to the World Cup semifinals with a 2-1 win.
Spain struck first through Fabian Ruiz, who cleaned up after Dani Olmo’s shot was parried by Thibaut Courtois in the 23rd minute. It was the kind of scrappy goal that usually settles things. But Belgium answered back quickly. Charles De Ketelaere equalized just 11 minutes later, and the game settled into a tense back-and-forth that looked headed for extra time.
Then Courtois went down with an injury. Senne Lammens, the backup keeper, came on. And Spain immediately tested him.
Pedri slipped a pass to Pau Cubarsi, who let fly from distance. Lammens got a hand to it but couldn’t control the rebound. The ball spilled loose right to Merino, who had entered the match just minutes earlier. He didn’t miss. Same spot, same script, different day.
Merino is becoming Spain’s ultimate Plan B
This wasn’t a one-off. Merino pulled the exact same trick in the Round of 16 against Portugal. He came on in the 85th minute and scored in the 91st, a crisp finish from a Ferran Torres pass that ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career. That was a 1-0 win. This one, a 2-1. Both times Merino was the difference.
You go back to Euro 2024, and it’s the same story. He scored a 119th-minute winner against Germany in the quarterfinals there. The guy has a real thing for late knockout goals.
It’s not just timing either. Merino has turned into an incredibly reliable player for Arsenal since joining from Real Sociedad in August 2024. He played all over the midfield and even dropped deeper when needed, helping Mikel Arteta’s squad finally win the Premier League in 2025-26. At 30, he might be having the best stretch of his career.
Spain will now wait for the winner of Brazil and Argentina, but they’ve got something that’s hard to manufacture: a closer who doesn’t care about the moment. Merino just keeps showing up.
Leave a Comment