Merino puts Spain into World Cup semi-finals as Belgium rue costly Courtois injury

Mikel Merino wheels away, arms outstretched, after netting the winner late on. Mikel Merino wheels away, arms outstretched, after netting the winner late on. World Cup 2026 Merino puts Spain into World Cup semi-finals as Belgium rue costly Courtois injury Sid Lowe at Los Angeles Stadium Fri 10 Jul 2026 17.13 EDT Last modified on Sat 11 Jul 2026 01.32 EDT Share Prefer the Guardian on Google Mikel Merino’s amazing moment arrived once more, an entire country circling the corner flag with him as football, which somehow always finds a way, provided another absurdly tall tale. The man who came on to score the late, late goals that took Spain into a European championship semi-final two years ago and a World Cup quarter-final four days ago, only went and did it again. And this time it was even better, his two-month old son Marco, who he has hardly seen, in attendance here. “As he wasn’t there for the quarter-finals, I had to do it in the semi-final too so he could experience it as well,” Merino said.