Mikel Merino continued his impressive impact off the bench to lead Spain into the final fifa world cup La Roja scored another decisive goal in the dying seconds as they beat Belgium 2-1 in the 2026 quarter-finals at SoFi Arena in Inglewood on Friday. The Spanish midfielder came on in the 86th minute and changed the situation in just two minutes. The Merino team used a rebound to score the winning goal in the 88th minute, sending the 2010 world champions into the semi-finals, where they will face France. Just days ago, the 30-year-old made another dramatic cameo in the last 16. Merino also came on from the bench against Portugal and then scored the only goal of the game in stoppage time to help Spain advance to the quarter-finals. These two interventions have now earned Merino Wool a place in FIFA World Cup history. He was the first player to score the winning goal as a substitute in two different knockout games at a single World Cup. He also became the first footballer to score two winning goals for Spain after the 80th minute of a World Cup match. Although Merino played in all six of Spain’s World Cup matches, he was only named in the starting XI once. The midfielder has made five appearances as a substitute, underscoring his reputation as a game-changing option off the bench for Spain. His only start at this World Cup came on June 26 against Uruguay at Akron Stadium in Zapopan, where he played 60 minutes before being substituted. Spain took the lead in the 30th minute against Belgium when Thibaut Courtois blocked Dani Olmo’s shot from Lamine Hjalmar and Pedro Polo before Fabian Ruiz finished the game. In the 41st minute, Timothy Castagni passed in and Charles de Cotrare headed home, giving Belgium an equalizer before the break. The goal ended Spain’s streak of six consecutive games without conceding a goal in the World Cup, and also ended goalkeeper Unai Simon’s streak of 650 minutes without conceding a goal in the World Cup. The Red Devils suffered a major setback in the 71st minute when Courtois was forced off due to injury in his 21st appearance at the World Cup, leaving him second only to Germany legend Manuel Neuer among goalkeepers at the World Cup. Spain finally found a breakthrough when Paulo Cubas’ long-range shot was blocked by substitute goalkeeper Sené Lamence. The Merino team reacted fastest to the ball and scored from close range to provide another winner in the knockout stages. The victory moved Spain into its first FIFA World Cup semi-finals since lifting the trophy in South Africa in 2010 and extended its unbeaten regular-season run to 36 games, which dates back to a friendly loss to Colombia in 2024.
