Out of the shadows came Mikel Merino. He wasn’t where he wanted to be. Yet here he was. The Portuguese defenders, who were tired and turned around in the half space, did not make the mark. Latching onto Ferran Torres’ eye-popping pass and flicking the ball past an unsuspecting Diogo Costa.
Merino is rarely a hero before the game, with little newspaper spending on his utilitarian ties to influencing the game. But not for the first time, he made the difference for his team, the difference between full overtime and a potential tiebreaker. The difference between Cristiano Ronaldo living another day and saying goodbye to a tournament that rarely happens.
When Fabian Ruiz rushed a free kick about 20 yards from the Portugal goalmouth, Merino was lumbering as if something was pulling him back. Ruiz went after Rodri in midfield, he was a few yards ahead of Rodri. But by the time the midfielder slipped the ball to Torres, Merino had made his characteristic run from behind. And when Torres slid in a beautifully weighted ball, Merino was right where he wanted to put the ball. He collected the ball and scored defiantly to end a game struggling to meet the preordained quality of a game that had slipped into the afternoon siesta in Dallas.
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For 90 minutes, the forwards and wingers assigned to score goals, men far more famous than Merino, failed to find that perfect spot. Costa held off a thunderbolt from Alex Bayna, but most of the other saves didn’t test his reflexes or resilience. Perhaps, neither Costa nor his defenders expected Merino’s anonymous run through midfield. No one does, when he reaches his goal.
Merino has made a career out of invisible infiltration for his club and country. Arsenal supporters will note the many goals that have made him a cult hero; Spain was indebted to him for the goal against Germany in the semi-finals of the Euros. Arsenal teammate Gabriel Martinelli nicknamed him “R9” due to his uncanny ability to score crucial goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo (7) reacts after the World Cup round of 16 match between Portugal and Spain. (AP Photo)
In his precision and carelessness, the goals were similar to the countless goals Ronaldo Nazario scored in his career. Immediately after he scored, he went to the corner flag and circled it three times, his father Miguel Merino, a modest-sided midfielder in La Liga in the late 90s. Yet, it was a moment that never happened. When he suffered a bone stress fracture and a rare hairline fracture in his right leg in January, he thought his World Cup dreams were over. “When they told me about my injury, I thought I’m not in the World Cup, but here I am,” he said after the game.
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He could not walk for three months. He prayed and wept. Then the doctor said that he was recovering faster than he expected. Although he remained on the bench for the Champions League final, he resumed his training with Arsenal. He checked with Spain manager Carlos de la Fuente if he was in the World Cup plans. He told him he would wait.
The manager knew that Merino could multitask as seamlessly as few people could. He can play any role in midfield, as an attacking midfielder, box-crusher or at times as a pivot; On the frontline, Arteta has deployed him as a false nine, supporting striker and center forward. At Dortmund, he was deployed as a left-sided centre-back; He was often central in age-group competitions for Spain.
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Arteta has discovered he has what it takes to be a centre-forward, he is aerially strong, clever at putting his defenders to sleep and is rarely wasteful, traits that shone through in his 15-goal season for Arsenal in 2024-25. “When he came back, I saw his desperation to get himself back in shape for the final (Champions League) and the World Cup,” Arteta said. “He is another one who is crossing every boundary, sacrificing every little pleasure,” he added.
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In the race to get fit, he lost time with his newborn son, who is only two months old. “Injury, not seeing my little boy grow up: I used that as a strength to get the best out of me. It’s the result of the hard work my family has always put on me. I did my part. For it to happen again at the last minute, I’m very happy,” he said after the game.
The 29-year-old is not the archetypal Spanish midfield stylist, with limited passing range, nothing flashy. But he can play a tough role, the manager had a clear plan when he was introduced in the 85th minute. “Michael can play that role between midfield and attack. And we thought about what would happen if we went into extra time,” he said.
He didn’t go into extra time, because Merino was the king of the shadows in Spain.