No wonder Spain boss Luis de la Fuente can’t resist keeping Mikel Merino on the bench. It’s now two World Cup knockout games deadlocked, two World Cup knockout games won by the left boot of the Arsenal midfielder. On Monday, it was against Portugal in Dallas; here in the Californian sunshine, he was quickest following in, anticipating an error from the Belgian goalkeeper. Slamming the ball into the roof of the net two minutes from time, he sends his country into a tantalising semi-final showdown with fellow European heavyweights France on Tuesday.
Only, it wasn’t meant to be this way for this valiant Belgian team. The cruel turn of the tide came 20 minutes from the end when Thibaut Courtois, one of the world’s greatest goalkeepers, trudged off inconsolable after sustaining a thigh injury. A very capable No 2 in Man Utd’s Senne Lammens took his place but it was his error, his inability to hold on to Pau Cubarsi’s long-range effort, his incomprehensible spill of the football into Merino’s path, which will be the lasting image of their World Cup campaign.
