Mikel Merino gives Spain a late-game weapon in World Cup knockouts

What happened: The Guardian reports that Mikel Merino has scored the decisive goal from the bench in each of Spain's last two World Cup knockout rounds. Those goals have helped Spain record their first World Cup knockout victories since winning the tournament in 2010, turning Merino into one of the most important late-game figures in Luis de la Fuente's squad.

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Why it matters: Knockout tournaments are often decided by players who can change a match after the first plan has run its course. Merino's value, based on the reported facts, is not just that he has scored. It is that he has done it late, from the bench, in consecutive elimination matches. That gives Spain a very specific weapon: a substitute who has already proved he can enter high-pressure games and produce the final action that separates survival from exit.

Tournament impact: Spain's recent World Cup history makes the detail sharper. The Guardian notes that Spain had repeatedly fallen at the quarter-final stage in earlier eras, including 1986, 1994 and 2002, and had not won a World Cup knockout match since 2010 before this run. That context turns Merino's goals into more than isolated finishes. They are part of Spain pushing through a stage of the tournament that has carried real historical weight.

De la Fuente's calm is part of the story too. The source describes the Spain coach speaking with unusual ease before the quarter-final against Belgium, even joking about childhood television memories rather than presenting the moment as a burden. His quoted line about seeing Merino behind him and feeling calm captures how the midfielder's role has shifted: not necessarily a guaranteed starter, but a trusted closing option.

What to watch: The tactical question is whether Merino remains most useful as a substitute or whether repeated decisive impact forces a larger role. Starting him might reward form, but keeping him in reserve preserves the late-game pattern that has worked in the last two rounds. Spain's next high-leverage decision is not simply who their best players are; it is when their most useful players should enter the match.

Confidence: The source confirms Merino's decisive goals from the bench in the last two knockout rounds, Spain's recent breakthrough in World Cup knockout matches, and De la Fuente's public confidence in him. It does not give full match scores, line-ups, or a confirmed plan for Merino's next role, so any projection about selection remains uncertain.