Like father, like son: The extraordinary story of the hero of the Spain-Germany match
Spain advanced to the semi-finals of Euro 2024 after a devastating battle with Germany, with Mikel Merino emerging as the hero, who paid tribute to his father’s feat.
In the clash with Germany, the Spanish were in serious trouble several times, but in the end they won the war of nerves. Much is said about Mikel Merino after the match. He came off the bench and in the 119th minute scored a header past Manuel Neuer. He gave Spain a 2-1 lead, which the team did not give up until the end of extra time. Merino’s goal has a beautiful family story associated with it.
Merino repeated his father’s feat
Friday’s quarter-final between Spain and Germany was played in Stuttgart. Angel Merino, Mikel’s father, scored a goal in the European cups in the same stadium over 32 years ago. He played for Osasuna Pamplona at the time. Mateusz Święcicki mentioned this on platform X. What’s more, both gentlemen celebrated their goals in a similar way, running around the flag in the corner of the pitch. Another interesting fact is that Angel Merino scored his only goal in the European cups in Stuttgart, and in the same match against the German team, Jan Urban scored a double.
Mikel Merino was asked about the emotions related to his goal in the Euro quarter-finals by “Marca”. The 28-year-old was overjoyed and mentioned the story related to his father.
“It was a special moment. There’s a lot of work behind it, especially for my teammates who did a great job. It’s a reward for perseverance that we deserve. There’s something about this stadium because it brings us luck, my father scored here too. The stadium is special for us,” Merino said.
Euro 2024. Spain and France to the final
Spain won all five of their matches at the European Championships. There is no doubt that they are the most beautiful team at the tournament in Germany. On the other end of the spectrum is France, who scored three goals (two own goals and one penalty) and conceded one goal on their way to the semi-finals. The Tricolours have yet to unleash their offensive potential. The match with Spain will be a serious test for Didier Deschamps’ team. The match will start on Tuesday at 9:00 p.m.
