Mikel Merino Reveals Mobility Scooter Ordeal Behind His World Cup Hero Run

Nine minutes. That is all Mikel Merino has needed across two World Cup knockout matches to send Spain through to the semi-finals. He waited on the bench for 85 minutes against Portugal before scoring the winner, then sat for another 86 minutes against Belgium before doing it again. Two matches, two late winners, barely a touch of the ball between them.

His goal against Belgium arrived just 117 seconds after he replaced a teammate. Senne Lammens, the Manchester United goalkeeper thrown into an emergency debut after Thibaut Courtois left the field in tears with an injury, spilled a low shot from Pau Cubarsi. Merino pounced on the rebound and buried it. Spain won 2-1 and booked a semi-final against France in Texas.

He is now the first player in World Cup history to score the winning goal in two separate knockout matches as a substitute. The 30-year-old has started only one game at this tournament, yet he has dragged Spain into the semi-finals almost single-handedly.

A Different Fight Six Months Ago

The story behind that record began in January, when Merino suffered a stress fracture in his foot playing for Arsenal. The injury left him unable to walk for two months. He needed a mobility scooter to get around his own home.

“I had two options, to go down and cry myself into extinction, or keep my head up, be positive and use my time to improve other aspects,” Merino said in an interview after returning to training in May.

He recovered in time to make Spain’s World Cup squad, though he has started only one game at the tournament. Luis de la Fuente never doubted him.

De la Fuente’s Faith

De la Fuente has known Merino from his time coaching him in Spain’s youth teams, and the trust between them runs deep.

“I have a great affection for all the players, but with Merino there’s something special because we’ve known each other a long time,” de la Fuente said earlier this week. “If necessary, I’d go to pick him up at his house.

“He’s world-class. I want to emphasise the importance of the players who come off the bench. Mikel never disappoints. He’s a safe bet.”

That faith paid off against Portugal in the last 16, when Merino struck a similar late winner. Four days later, he repeated the trick against Belgium.

Having scored the winner against Portugal, another player might have grumbled at not being called upon until the 86th minute of the following match, brought on as the last of five substitutes. Merino showed no sign of frustration. His reaction to the loose ball in the Belgium box was instant, anticipating where Cubarsi’s shot would fall before Lammens had even let it go.

“I’ve done this again, and it’s happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists,” a smiling Merino said after the Belgium win. “If you go in prepared, it can happen. If you’re ready and you try, it can happen for you. I’m very, very pleased. Two matches to win a World Cup is a dream come true, hopefully we can achieve it.”

How The Belgium Win Unfolded

Spain broke the deadlock in the 30th minute in Los Angeles when Fabian Ruiz punished poor handling from Courtois to slam home the rebound. Belgium levelled 11 minutes later through Charles De Ketelaere, who headed in Timothy Castagne’s cross.

Courtois then made a string of saves to keep Belgium in the contest, denying both Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal, before the injury struck in the 71st minute. He was replaced by Lammens, who had barely settled into the match when Merino punished his error 17 minutes later.

Sky Sports analyst Laura Hunter described the win as close to vintage Spain. Yamal finished the night with six efforts at goal and four successful dribbles, while captain Rodri made 62 line-breaking passes in the tournament’s final third, matching a record set by Germany’s Toni Kroos in 2014.

Yamal himself made a slow start to this tournament as he worked his way back from a thigh injury, scoring only once before completing his first full 90 minutes against Portugal in the last 16. Against Belgium he grew into the contest, twice tested by Courtois before the goalkeeper’s own night ended early.

Not His First Big Moment For Spain

This is not the first time Merino has delivered when it counted most. At Euro 2024, his header in the penultimate minute of extra time eliminated Germany in the quarter-final, sending Spain on to beat England in the final.

He has built a career on the same instinct at club level. After arriving at Arsenal from Real Sociedad in the summer Spain won that tournament, he has scored against Liverpool, Real Madrid, Chelsea and Newcastle. All but one of his 11 Premier League goals for the Gunners have either drawn Arsenal level or put them in front.

Mikel Arteta reshaped his role from a deeper midfield position into a more advanced one, and Merino has now scored 12 goals in 49 appearances for Spain.

A Family Habit Of Big Moments

That Euro 2024 winner against Germany carried a personal thread that runs back three decades. The goal came in Stuttgart, the same city where Merino’s father, Angel Miguel Merino, scored one of the biggest goals of his own playing career, helping Osasuna beat the German club 3-2 in the 1991-92 UEFA Cup. His father celebrated by running to the corner flag, a gesture Mikel repeated when his header went in against Germany.

“It was one of the most important goals in his career, and he scored it in that same stadium,” Merino said. “So for me to be able to score there, and celebrate the same way he did, is the highlight of my career so far.”

Spain’s Long Road To Another Semi-Final

Spain’s route here was not always smooth. They opened with a goalless draw against Cape Verde before recovering to beat Saudi Arabia and Uruguay to top their group. A 3-0 win over Austria in the round of 32 was among their best performances of the tournament, before Merino’s late winner saw off Portugal in the last 16.

Spain remain unbeaten in 37 matches stretching back to March 2023. De la Fuente has now overseen more games at major tournaments without defeat than any other international manager in history, with 13.

Merino has known Yamal from the moment the teenager broke into the Spain squad two years ago. Speaking before the tournament, he said Yamal “has matured a lot since the Euros” and is “a much better player now than he was before, even if that’s difficult.” He added: “He’s a massive player, probably the best in the world at the minute, but he’s not the only player who needs to perform. He can’t do it on his own. I’d say our biggest strength is that we’re like a collective and we play as a team. He’s a big part of a bigger puzzle.”

The Test That Awaits

France arrive in Texas as tournament favourites, built around Kylian Mbappe’s seven goals so far, a tally that has taken him to 19 in 19 World Cup appearances overall. Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise complete a front three that has caused problems for every defence it has faced, while 25-year-old Manu Kone has emerged from relative obscurity to anchor their midfield.

France do carry one complication into the semi-final. Both Olise and Barcola sit one booking away from a suspension that would rule them out of the final should Didier Deschamps’ side get there. Losing either winger would blunt an attack that has otherwise flowed freely all summer.

What Comes Next

Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards summed up the win over Belgium on BBC One: “They’re not scintillating, they could be better. But they are getting over the line. It’s about moments in games and Merino in the last two games has certainly had his moments.”

Spain now face France on Tuesday in Texas for a place in the World Cup final on July 19. De la Fuente’s side have shown they do not need to be at their most fluent to win football’s biggest games. Between Rodri’s control of midfield, Yamal’s unpredictability and a group that keeps producing goals from unlikely sources, Spain arrive at the semi-final with more than one route to victory.

And if the game turns tight in its closing stages, they have Merino waiting on the bench. A player who once needed a mobility scooter to cross his own living room has now proven twice at this tournament, and once at a European Championship, that the biggest moments seem to find him.

The other semi-final spot will be filled by the winner of Norway’s quarter-final against England and whoever comes through Argentina’s meeting with Switzerland, the last of the eight ties to be decided. Whichever side reaches the final will already know that Spain, even without their most fluent performance, have found a way to make the knockout rounds work for them.