Arsenal star Mikel Merino was in action again for Spain on Sunday night as they progressed in the Nations League.
Arsenal star Mikel Merino was the talk of the town earlier in the week after producing a late goal to rescue a draw for Spain in the Netherlands, but he didn’t manage such an impact on Sunday night. Spain and Netherlands played out another classic, this time drawing 3-3 to produce an aggregate score of 5-5, progressing through extra time and then penalties.
Despite his heroics last time out, Merino was not given a start, instead coming off the bench in the 84th minute, with the score at 2-2. Lamine Yamal scored after that, in extra time, and Xavi Simons ended up levelling the tie to force penalties in Valencia.
Merino scored Spain’s first penalty of the shoot out, and all of the first three takers for each side did the same before misses from Yamal and Noa Lang. After Kenneth Taylor and Alex Baena scored, Donyell Malen was denied by Unai Simón, allowing Pedri to step up and rifle a penalty in the right top corner to secure La Roja’s spot in the Nations League semi-finals.
Merino got plenty of praise for his impact in the first leg, but as far as Marca were concerned, he was part of a changes from Luis de la Fuente that saw Spain lose their balance. The report read: “Maatsen took advantage of Dani Olmo’s loss (of possession) to pierce Unai Simon’s net. Spain, more vulnerable that advisable, left the game in the balance with Pedri and Merino on the grass. Netherlands provoked panic with attacks while ghosts appeared.”
Merino was given one star for his cameo, while three stars were given to top performers Unai Simón, Dean Huijsen and Nico Williams.
Spain boss De la Fuente was pleased to see his side progress, speaking highly of the Nations League competition after securing a semi-final spot. He said: “What I like most is the attitude of the players. They're trained to win. They do it at their clubs and they do it here. I'm going to be a little mean about what was said about the Nations League. You only have to look at the list of teams there. A world champion like Italy has fallen by the wayside. I've always compared the level to the European Championship..."
Meanwhile, Ronaldo Koeman, who has previously spent plenty of time in Spain during his Barcelona days, said: "I wish Spain the best of luck. They have a great team, and the good thing is that we were able to push them to the limit. The fans will have enjoyed both games." He added: "Look at what Spain has, you can have a player like Pedri on the bench and he can come on to be decisive. He's a great player. We have very good players, but having Pedri on the bench says it all."
The semi-finals of the competition will take place in June, with Spain going up against France in a repeat of the Euro 2024 semi-finals, while Germany and Portugal will face off to decide the other finalist. Unlike the quarter-finals, those games will be single leg ties, both taking place in Germany, with the final taking place a few days later, at Allianz Arena.
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