Mikel Merino's Late Winner Sends Spain to World Cup Semifinals

Mikel Merino stepped out of the shadows and into Spain’s World Cup story with one sharp swing of his left boot.

The substitute struck an 88th-minute winner in Los Angeles on Friday night as Spain edged Belgium 2-1 in a tense quarter-final, sealing a semi-final showdown with France in Dallas on Tuesday. A cagey contest, heavy with history and the weight of generations, cracked open only when Belgium’s backup goalkeeper blinked.

Spain’s control, Belgium’s warning

Spain, the European champions, arrived with the aura of a machine. Six straight World Cup clean sheets, a metronomic comfort on the ball, a reputation for strangling games rather than lighting them up. They did not dazzle here either, but they controlled.

On the half-hour, their patience paid off. Dani Olmo burst into space and let fly, drawing a superb save from Thibaut Courtois, who flung himself low to his right. The danger should have ended there. It didn’t. Fabian Ruiz, alive to the rebound, followed in and buried the loose ball to give Spain a 1-0 lead and briefly silence the Belgian end.

Spain looked settled, almost serene. Then Belgium reminded everyone why this fixture came laced with jeopardy.

Nine minutes before the break, Timothy Castagne found room on the right and whipped in a teasing cross. Charles De Ketelaere timed his run and rose to meet it, steering his header past Unai Simon. One chance, one ruthless finish. The Golden Generation, or what remains of it, refused to go quietly.

Courtois exits, tension rises

The second half tightened. Spain probed, Belgium countered, and every misplaced pass seemed to carry the threat of catastrophe. Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku, emblematic of a Belgian era that has promised so much, hunted for one more defining moment together.

Then came the twist that changed everything.

Midway through the half, Courtois signalled he could not continue. The towering goalkeeper, who had already kept Belgium alive once, trudged off to be replaced by Senne Lammens. A World Cup quarter-final, against this Spain, with the season on the line — and a young understudy suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

Spain sensed the crack in the armour, even if the breakthrough refused to come. Luis de la Fuente turned to his bench, searching for one more angle, one more runner into the box, one more late surge.

He found Merino.

Merino pounces, Spain march on

Introduced in the 86th minute, the midfielder barely had time to settle. Two minutes later, he decided the tie.

Pau Cubarsi stepped forward and drilled a low effort from the edge of the area. It skidded awkwardly in front of Lammens, who failed to hold it. The ball spilled loose inside the box for a heartbeat, maybe less, but that was all Merino needed. He reacted first, pouncing on the rebound and driving it home.

Spain’s bench exploded. Belgium’s players sank.

There was no way back this time. The team that had thumped co-hosts United States 4-1 and hauled itself from two goals down to beat Senegal 3-2 after extra-time in the last 32 finally ran out of miracles.

Golden Generation running out of road

For Belgium, this World Cup always carried the feeling of a last stand. De Bruyne, Lukaku, the remnants of a Golden Generation that changed the nation’s footballing expectations, knew the clock was ticking on their chance to leave a lasting mark on the biggest stage.

They fought, they rallied, they dragged Spain into a contest rather than a procession. But when the decisive moment came, it belonged to a Spanish substitute and a spilled shot, not to the old masters in red.

Spain march on to Dallas, to a semi-final against France, still not always spectacular but relentlessly efficient and utterly sure of who they are. Belgium head home with the familiar taste of what might have been.

The question now is not what this Golden Generation could have achieved — that debate has raged for years — but whether there will be another one soon enough to chase the glory that slipped through their fingers here.