Mikel Merino entered the pitch with one task from his coach Luis de la Fuente - prevent Germany from scoring a goal. Spain led their EURO 2024 quarterfinal by a solitary goal, and as Merino replaced Alvaro Morata, a striker, on the pitch, the brief was clear - Stop 'em.
It was the same task he'd been given when he made his debut to replace Sergio Busquets against Germany in his Spain debut in 2020. Merino, the quintessential Spanish defensive midfielder, would sit deep, dictate play if needed and break up Germany's forays forward.
Except... he didn't.
Julian Nagelsmann's side poured forward chasing an equalizer, and chance after chance flowed - Merino lost in the chaos of the transitions as Germany underlined why they were so fancied to win the tournament. And then in the 89th minute, Florian Wirtz netted the equalizer - hammering the ball home in the box after a knockdown from Joshua Kimmich. Where was Merino? Surely, as a defensive midfielder, he'd be contesting the central areas, a shadow on Wirtz? No. At the back post then, to prevent Kimmich? No. Merino was ambling on the edge of the box in the far right channel - completely out of position.
Germany had made it 1-1 and had all of the momentum. Toni Kroos would not say farewell without a fight.
As the game progressed into extra-time, there seemed only one outcome - Germany had the better of the chances, with Niklas Fullkrug causing the Spanish defence all sorts of problems. So, when Ferran Torres picked up the ball on the right wing in the 119th minute, it seemed almost a sort of relief. He attempted a flick to get past Maxi Mittelstaedt, but was thwarted, the ball looping away only for Dani Carvajal to back him up, as the Real Madrid fullback swept it across the pitch to Marc Cucurella on the left side.
Where was Merino amongst all this? Ahead of Cucurella, making a darting run towards the edge of the box. Unfamiliar surroundings indeed.
Cucurella took advantage of the space Merino had vacated and shaped up to shoot... but this is Spain. He checked himself, and passed it wide to Dani Olmo on the left. Germany, as a well-drilled Nagelsmann side, had all their players in position, ready to thwart the cross, quickly pressing to close down spaces.
There was nowhere for Olmo to go down the left wing, so he checked back on his right foot and looked up. Joselu was there, the target man, the specialist of late-goals, the man who'd propelled Real Madrid in their UEFA Champions League victory this season. Naturally, Toni Rudiger had been marking him, well aware of his club teammate's danger in the box.
Except Merino's run had caused confusion and Rudiger had to let Joselu go, now stepping towards the defensive midfielder. Merino wasn't being one however, running beyond Rudiger like the canniest of centre-forwards as Olmo whipped in a cross into the box with his right foot.
And there was Merino, floating in the air like the most traditional of #9s, as he leapt high and looped his header into the top corner at the near post. The Stuttgart Arena erupted as Spain led 2-1, the third-latest winner in the history of the Euros coming from an unfamiliar head.
Except for Merino, this was very, very familiar.
Not Mikel, the 28-year-old born in Pamplona, but rather his father, also named Miguel, who'd scored at the Stuttgart Arena 33 years ago, in a 2-0 win for Osasuna. Miguel Angel had celebrated by rounding the corner flag then, and his son repeated the feat again, 33 years later.
Father and son with similar celebrations after scoring a goal at the MHPArena.
July 5, 2024: Mikel Merino (Spain) vs. Germany.
November 5, 1991: Ángel Merino (Osasuna) vs. VfB Stuttgart. pic.twitter.com/36W8ZZY8Uh
- Mohamed Moallim (@iammoallim) July 5, 2024
"This stadium must have something that gives us luck," the younger Merino said after the game. "My father scored here. It is a special stadium for us." Later, Merino Angel spoke to Spanish radio station Cadena SER of the "enormous pride" he felt watching his son score and the celebration that followed.
"The point was to make me look bad," joked Merino senior, who'd never earned a Spanish callup. "If he had already surpassed me, now I don't have the exclusivity of the Stuttgart goal, either. Now I just have to be quiet and give him a big kiss, because he deserves it."
Familiar surroundings indeed.
And for that Mikel Merino takes our Moment of the Day for day 18 of Euro 2024.