Mikel Merino has played roughly 136 minutes of World Cup football for Spain. He has two goals. Both were knockout-stage winners. And naturally, someone launched a meme coin about it.
The Arsenal midfielder’s stat line reads like a cheat code: one goal every 68 minutes at the 2026 World Cup, with both strikes coming off the bench in do-or-die matches.
Two minutes, one goal, one token
Here’s what happened on July 10, 2026. Spain were locked in a quarterfinal grind against Belgium. Merino entered the match in the 86th minute. Two minutes later, he scored the winner in the 88th minute.
It wasn’t a one-off, either. In the round of 16, Merino came off the bench and scored the decisive goal against Portugal. That makes him the first player in World Cup history to score back-to-back knockout-winning goals as a substitute.
