Mikel Merino has become the first player in World Cup history to score a winning goal off the bench in two separate knockout ties. The 70,492 crowd inside Los Angeles's SoFi Stadium watched a genuine drama unfold as Spain edged Belgium 2-1.
Fabián Ruiz opened the scoring, but De Ketelaere soon levelled with a header. The turning point came when Thibaut Courtois pulled up injured and left the pitch in tears, forcing the inexperienced Lammens into action. It was the substitute goalkeeper's error that handed Merino his opening, and just 117 seconds after coming on, with his second touch, he settled the tie.
The man himself was still searching for an explanation afterwards. "I've done this again, and it's happened to me again, so it would seem that coincidence exists," Merino reflected.
While Rodri was rewriting the records with 62 line-breaking passes, La Roja stretched their unbeaten run to 36 matches. The question now is whether this relentless, unbeaten machine can halt tournament favourites France, with the World Cup dream just two steps away?
