Mikel Merino scored a dramatic late winner for Spain against Portugal in the World Cup last-16 match, sending his team into the quarter-finals and recreating a celebration that his father, Ángel Miguel, performed 33 years ago. The goal, which came deep into stoppage time, sparked pandemonium in Pamplona, where the San Fermín fiestas had just begun.
Goal in stoppage time
Normal time had expired when Merino, who had been on the pitch for only six minutes, combined with substitutes Fabián Ruiz and Ferran Torres. Ruiz and Torres played a clever one-two, and Merino beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa from inside the area. The goal mirrored his header in the Euro 2024 semi-final, which also came with 65 seconds left.
Merino circled the corner flag in celebration, just as his father had done after scoring a last-minute winner for Osasuna in 1991. This time, he dedicated the goal to his two-month-old son, Marco, whom he has hardly seen while away with the national team.
Injury comeback
Merino's journey to the World Cup was fraught with difficulty. A stress fracture in his foot left him on crutches for two months, and he played only 28 minutes between January and the tournament. Spain's coach, Luis de la Fuente, promised to wait for him. Merino admitted that without the support of his wife, Lola, who was pregnant at the time, he would not have recovered. "It was incredible to see her, seven or eight months pregnant, helping me get up the stairs," he said. "It was hard for her but she was so strong."
Emotional payoff
Merino described the moment of scoring as a culmination of all the sacrifices. "When that happens you remember everything – the good things and the bad things, all the things you have at home," he said. "The injury, not seeing my little one grow: I used that as strength to get the best out of me. This is the product of the hard work my family always inculcated in me."
After the match, Merino wore the red scarf of San Fermín, a symbol of the Pamplona festival. "Enjoy it," he said. "Celebrating with your loved ones is the most beautiful thing in life."
