Spain’s Mikel Merino (6) celebrates scoring their second goal through the World Cup quarterfinal football match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
INGLEWOOD, California — Mikel Merino is Spain’s World Cup hero once more, and even he finds it hard to consider.
A mere 4 days after Merino scored a clutch goal as an alternative in injury time to beat Portugal, he found himself in the best spot again within the quarterfinals when Belgium’s backup goalkeeper spilled the ball into his path.
Merino booted it home within the 88th minute, sending Spain to a 2-1 victory Friday and right into a titanic semifinal showdown with tournament favorite France.
READ: World Cup: Spain faces Belgium, goals for duel vs France
“I’ve done this again, and it’s happened to me again, so it will seem that coincidence exists,” a smiling Merino said. “Should you’re ready and you are trying, I suppose it will possibly occur for you.”
Already a flexible contributor in any role he can get as a depth player for his country or English club Arsenal, the multi-positional Merino has transformed into the last word super-sub while providing exactly what Spain needed to survive two knockout matches against top opponents.
Merino has scored two goals in his first World Cup — they usually’re each historic.
“Truthfully, it’s crazy to have the option to assist the team once more,” he said. “This time otherwise, but at the identical time to consider and trust that the opposing goalkeeper could make a mistake and to remain alert. … I prepare for when the moment comes, and hopefully they keep coming.”
Merino is the primary to confess he also needed luck, and Belgium keeper Senne Lammens provided it after he was forced into his first World Cup match within the 71st minute by an injury to starter Thibaut Courtois.
READ: World Cup: Spain sets record with sixth clean sheet in a row
Merino got here on within the 86th minute and scored on his second touch of the match, charging into the box and pouncing after Lammens lost control of Pau Cubarsí’s long shot.
Fabián Ruiz scored a rebound goal within the thirtieth minute for Spain, but Belgium forward Charles De Ketelaere evened it with the primary goal allowed by the Spanish team in your entire World Cup within the forty first minute.
Merino’s clutch goal against an upset-minded Belgium sent La Roja to the semifinals for the primary time since they won the World Cup in 2010. A powerhouse matchup with France has been anticipated for the reason that draw was announced late last 12 months, and Spain was grateful to secure its spot.
“We got here here for this, to play against the very best teams on this planet,” Merino said. “We’re confident in our possibilities, at the identical time respecting the opposition. That is one in every of those games that you simply dream of while you’re a child, and now now we have the possibility to compete against a large rival. Hopefully we’ll get the win.”
Spain and France will meet Tuesday in Arlington, Texas, in a matchup anticipated for years. Neither team has lost at this 12 months’s World Cup.
“It should be a clash of giants,” Spain coach Luis De La Fuente said through a translator. “We’re able to winning this game — and not only now, but I might have said this a number of weeks ago as well. They’re a terrific giant of football, but I trust our team.”
READ: Spain wins it late to provide Ronaldo bitter end to World Cup profession
Spain’s midfielder #06 Mikel Merino celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammates through the 2026 World Cup football tournament quarter-final match between Spain and Belgium on the Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood on July 10, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP)
Courtois made 4 saves, however the Real Madrid keeper went all the way down to the grass within the second half after an extended kick. He received treatment through the hydration break, but broke down in tears when coach Rudi Garcia removed him moments later.
Only Germany’s Manuel Neuer has played more World Cup matches than Courtois’ 21. Lammens, the capable Manchester United keeper, was forced to change into the primary goalkeeper aside from Courtois to play for Belgium within the last 4 World Cup tournaments — and he wasn’t capable of make the play that may have kept it level.
“We were on equal footing with Spain, and now we have nothing to feel bad about,” Garcia said. “In the primary half, they only had one probability, but they were very efficient. Unfortunately, to beat a team of this caliber, you would like luck in your side as well, and it was an excessive amount of for us to get into the semifinals.”
Belgium desperately pressed for an equalizer in the ultimate minutes with substitute forward Romelu Lukaku leading the hassle, but Aymeric Laporte acrobatically volleyed the very best probability out of the box within the second minute of injury time.
“We knew how we could hurt them, and I feel we did this today,” Belgium defender Brandon Mechele said. “It’s a pity that it ended like this, but I feel we may be pleased with the tournament we played.”
READ: World Cup: Spain eases past Austria and into round of 16
Spain remained unbeaten in 37 straight competitive matches since March 2023, while Belgium’s streak of 18 consecutive unbeaten matches across all competitions ended.
Spain didn’t allow a goal in its first five matches at this 12 months’s tournament, and goalkeeper Unai Simón hadn’t conceded in a World Cup record 650 minutes dating to Qatar.
The streaks abruptly ended when De Ketelaere muscled past Cubarsí and headed home a cross from Timothy Castagne for Belgium’s tying goal.
Belgium hadn’t generated anything near a powerful scoring probability before the newest big moment for De Ketelaere, the Atalanta forward who scored two goals in Belgium’s 4-1 rout of the co-host U.S. on Monday.
Your subscription couldn’t be saved. Please try again.
Your subscription has been successful.
Belgium captain Youri Tielemans was faraway from the starting lineup after getting injured during warmups. He joined injured defender Amadou Onana on the sidelines.