Mikel Merino Rescues La Roja Again: 4 Takeaways From Spain's Win Over Belgium

On Friday in Los Angeles, Spain extended its fantastic record against Belgium, leaving it late once again.

Goals from Fabián Ruiz and a stoppage-time winner from super-sub Mikel Merino secured a 2-1 victory and a place in the 2026 World Cup semifinals. Spain has now gone 12 matches unbeaten against Belgium, including six straight wins with an aggregate score of 14–1.

It is also unbeaten in 35 matches in all competitions, matching its longest ever streak.

For Belgium, the odds were always against Rudi Garcia’s side due to some notable injuries, including goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois having to leave the match with an apparent leg injury. The Red Devils did deliver a physical and inspiring encounter, pushing their opponent and even scoring, which was the first time Spain had conceded at the World Cup. In fact, it was the first World Cup goal it had conceded in 649 minutes.

Ultimately, it's Spain in the semifinals, its first such appearance at the World Cup since 2010 — when La Roja won it all.

Here are my takeaways from Spain's World Cup quarterfinal win over Belgium.

1. Mikel Merino To The Rescue … AGAIN!

It took the Arsenal midfielder six minutes to score the winner in stoppage time against Portugal in the round of 16, but he apparently thought that took too long. So, on Friday, he did it again in just less than two minutes.

It was just another example of Merino’s incredible ability to secure winners — for club and country — when they needed him the most. 

It’s also important to remember that the 30-year-old is not a striker, but Luis de la Fuente, just like Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, knows too well the poaching and scoring threat he can introduce to any match.

2. Belgium Went Through Hell

When it rains, it pours. For Belgium, the issues started before kickoff as midfielder Amadou Onana’s ACL injury was already going to be a problem for Garcia’s midfield needs. But then, his Aston Villa teammate Youri Tielemans also suffered a knock in the warmup, so now the Red Devils had massive roles to cover in the center of the pitch.

And against Spain, who possess a starting midfield potency of Manchester City’s Rodri, PSG’s Fabián Ruiz and Barcelona’s Dani Olmo, not having Tielemans was a huge blow.  

Consequently, as Belgium kept fighting, its goalkeeper, arguably the best in the game, Real Madrid star Courtois, had to come off in the 71st minute. Things were just not going to get easier for the Red Devils.

It was forced to play a very direct, counter-attacking match, and it was actually a great strategy against Spain. It even kept it at 1-1 until Merino popped up in the right place at the right time. Still, the likes of Belgium defenders Nathan Ngoy and Brandon Mechele had their best performances.

3. Jérémy Doku vs. Lamine Yamal Was Excellent

We are usually familiar with Doku’s work on the ball and ability to terrorize defenders, but Friday's performance was about more than just that. The Premier League star had to play an extra role in helping his teammates, especially left back Maxim De Cuyper, in completing the daunting task of slowing down Yamal on Spain's right wing.

Doku worked extremely hard to ensure protection against the Barcelona phenom and, for the most part, it worked as Yamal was unable to score. The 18-year-old was still a threat, but Doku made sure his adversary did not produce a familiar highlight of magic.

It was a selfless performance.

4. Spain Now Prepares For Its Biggest Test: France

Aside from earning the victory, Merino’s winner was also a welcome moment for Spain because it kept the team from playing extra time. That's even more important since France will have an extra day of rest going into next Tuesday's matchup. De La Fuente’s team will surely take every moment of recovery that it can get.

This will hopefully be an encounter of massive proportions. If it’s anything like last year’s Nations League semifinal, it will be full of fireworks, as that particular match ended 5-4 in favor of Spain.

This will be their first World Cup encounter since 2006, when France came out with a 3-1 win and ended up losing to Italy in the final after the infamous Zidane headbutt over Marco Materazzi.