Spain's Mikel Merino Creates History, Becomes First Player In The World To..
Spain's Mikel Merino Creates History, Becomes First Player In The World To... Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 03:30 IST Mikel Merino is the
Spain's Mikel Merino Creates History, Becomes First Player In The World To... Published By, Last Updated: July 11, 2026, 03:30 IST Mikel Merino is the first player in the world to score the winning goal in two different knockout-stage matches of the FIFA World Cup as a substitute. Mikel Merino celebrates after scoring Spain's second goal vs Belgium. (Picture Credit: AFP) Spain star Mikel Merino scored the second goal for La Roja in their 2-1 win over Belgium in the second quarterfinal match of FIFA World Cup 2026 on Friday (July 10). In the fixture played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, he came off the bench in the 86th minute and scored in the 88th minute to put his side 2-1 up. The goal by Merino proved to be decisive as it helped the 2010 champions defeat Belgium 2-1 and book their place in the semifinals of the ongoing FIFA World Cup. In Spain’s Round of 16 match as well, Merino came off the bench against Portugal and scored the only goal of the match in the 90+1st minute.
By scoring two winners for Spain in back-to-back knockout matches of FIFA World Cup 2026, Merino has entered his name in the history books. The 30-year-old is the first player in the world to score the winning goal in two different knockout-stage matches of the FIFA World Cup as a substitute. He is also the first player to score two goals that mean victory for Spain in the FIFA World Cup from the 80th minute onwards. Mikel Merino in FIFA World Cup 2026 AGAINST MINUTE SUBBED IN REPLACED GOALS RESULT SCORELINE VENUE DATE Cape Verde 71′ Fabian Ruiz 0 Draw 0-0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta June 15 Saudi Arabia 61′ Dani Olmo 0 Win 4-0 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta June 21 Uruguay 60′ (Subbed out) Dani Olmo 0 Win 1-0 Estadio Akron, Zapopan June 26 Austria 71′ Dani Olmo 0 Win 3-0 SoFi Stadium, Inglewood July 2 Portugal 85′ Dani Olmo 1 (in 90+1′) Win 1-0 AT&T Stadium, Arlington July 6 Belgium 86′ Dani Olmo 1 (in 88′) Win 2-1 SoFi Stadium, Inglewood July 10 In the ongoing 2026 edition of the FIFA World Cup, Merino has featured in all six matches for Spain.
However, he has managed to start in only one match and came on as a substitute in the other five. In his only start of FIFA World Cup 2026, the 30-year-old played 60 minutes for the 2024 European champions at Estadio Akron in Zapopan on June 26 against Uruguay. Spain to face France in semifinal The 2-1 win over Belgium in Los Angeles helped Spain become the second team to qualify for the semifinals of FIFA World Cup 2026, and in the last four, they will face France at AT&T Stadium in Arlington on July 14. France defeated Morocco 2-0 on Thursday to qualify for the semifinals of FIFA World Cup 2026. Unlike Spain, who played out a goalless draw against Cape Verde in their opening match of this year’s FIFA World Cup, France have won all six matches played so far. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Harshit Bisht Senior Sub-editor Harshit Bisht is a sports journalist at CNN-News18, where he has been covering cricket, football, and major sporting events from around the world since July 1, 2024.
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