Mikel Merino is making a habit of this. The Arsenal midfielder came off the bench again on Friday night, this time during Spain’s high-stakes quarter-final clash against Belgium. He didn’t waste his moment. Pouncing on a loose ball spilled by Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens, Merino smashed home the winner to seal a 2-1 victory.
It was pure instinct. It was also historic. According to the stat geeks at Opta, Merino is now the first player in the history of the World Cup to score the winning goal in two separate knockout matches as a substitute. He did the exact same thing to Portugal in the previous round. Talk about a super-sub.
His heroics caught the eye of Spanish royalty. Legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas took to social media to voice his admiration, writing simply: “Merino reminds me of Villa…”
He has a point. Back in 2010, David Villa was Spain’s ultimate clutch weapon. He bagged the winner in a 1-0 victory over Portugal in the round of 16, then repeated the trick against Paraguay in the quarter-finals. Villa did it as a starter, sure, but the parallel is hard to ignore. That Paraguay goal was Villa’s last of the tournament, but it paved the way for Spain to lift the trophy. Merino would sign up for that trajectory in a heartbeat.
After the match, a beaming Merino joked about his knack for late-game drama, admitting he felt obligated to score because his family missed his previous goal against Portugal.
“Since they weren’t there for the Round-of-16, I’ve had to repeat it so they can experience it live!” Merino told reporters. He credited their presence for his luck on the pitch, adding that the ball falling perfectly to his feet felt like good karma. “I feel privileged to be living through this, and to have my family here with me on top of that.”
