Mikel Merino created such history in the FIFA World Cup, no player in the world has been able to do this feat till date.

Super-Sub Delivers Match-Winning Magic: In the quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Spain defeated Belgium 2-1 and reached the semi-finals. The hero of this victory was once again Mikel Merino. He was brought on the field in the 86th minute of the match and just two minutes later he scored the winning goal to take Spain to the last four. Now Spain will face France in the semi-finals.

How Mikel Merino created history

Earlier, Mikel Merino had also led Spain to victory by scoring a goal in extra time against Portugal in the pre-quarterfinals. Now against Belgium also he decided the match by coming off the bench. With this, Merino has become the first player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to score the winning goal as a substitute in two different knockout matches of the same World Cup.

Both teams scored goals in the first half

The first goal of the match was scored by Fabian Ruiz for Spain in the 30th minute. After this, Belgium leveled the match at 1-1 with the help of Charles de Ketelare’s header in the 41st minute. With this goal, Spain’s streak of remaining without conceding a goal for six consecutive World Cup matches was also broken.

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Thibaut Courtois had to leave the field

In the second half, both the teams were continuously searching for goals. Belgium suffered a major blow in the 71st minute, when its star goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was forced to leave the field due to injury. After this, in the 88th minute, Belgium’s substitute goalkeeper could not completely stop the ball on the shot of Spain’s Pau Quibarsi. Mikel Merino took advantage of the opportunity and scored on the rebound to give Spain a memorable 2-1 victory.

Spain reached semi-finals after 16 years

With this victory, Spain has made it to the semi-finals of the tournament for the first time since winning the World Cup in 2010. Besides, the team’s unbeaten streak in regular time also reached 36 matches. Now Spain’s eyes will be on reaching the World Cup final once again by defeating France.