Mikel Merino continued his remarkable impact off the bench by firing in Spain FIFA World Cup 2026 semi-finals with another decisive goal as La Roja beat Belgium 2-1 in their quarter-final at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on Friday. Introduced in the 86th minute, the Spanish midfielder needed only two minutes to make the difference. Merino capitalized on an 88th-minute rebound to score what turned out 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 off the bench before scoring the only goal of the contest in stoppage time to seal Spain’s passage to the quarter-finals. Those two interventions earned Merino a place in FIFA World Cup history. He is the first player to score the winning goal as a substitute in two knockout games in a single World Cup. He also became the first footballer to score two winning goals for Spain in a FIFA World Cup from the 80th minute. Despite appearing in all six of Spain’s matches at the tournament, Merino was named in the starting XI just once. The midfielder made five appearances as a substitute, underlining his growing reputation as Spain’s game-changing option off 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, with Charles De Ketelaere heading home Timothy Castagne’s cross in the 41st minute. The goal ended Spain’s run of six consecutive World Cup matches and ended goalkeeper Unai Simon’s streak of 650 consecutive World Cup minutes without conceding. The Red Devils suffered a major setback in the 71st minute when Courtois was forced off through injury after making 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 late breakthrough when Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort was tipped over by substitute keeper Senne Lammens. Merino reacted quickest to the loose ball and tapped home from close range to deliver another knockout stage winner. The win sent Spain into their first FIFA World Cup semi-final since winning the trophy in South Africa in 2010 and extended their unbeaten run in regular time to 36 matches, a streak that dates back to a friendly defeat against Colombia in 2024.