Mikel Merino has a habit of showing up at exactly the right moment. The Spain midfielder scored a late goal on July 10, 2026, to give his side a 2-1 victory over Belgium in the World Cup quarterfinals, sending La Roja into a semifinal showdown with France.

The midfielder has now netted decisive stoppage-time goals in consecutive knockout rounds.

How Spain got past Belgium

Spain now face France in the semifinals, a fixture between two of Europe’s most decorated football nations, meeting at a World Cup hosted across North America in 2026, with a place in the final on the line.

The crypto angle: FIFA’s Kraken deal and what it means

On June 9, 2026, FIFA announced Kraken as the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the tournament. That is a first for FIFA.

Previous World Cups have attracted sponsors from energy drinks, automotive brands, and financial services companies. Adding a crypto exchange to that list marks a real shift in how FIFA views the category.

Sponsorship visibility and actual adoption are two different metrics. The FIFA-Kraken partnership puts the Kraken name in front of billions of viewers. Whether that translates into new account openings, trading volume, or sustained brand loyalty is a separate question.

Meme tokens and the gap between excitement and value

A Solana-based token called $MERINO has surfaced in the wake of the midfielder’s tournament heroics. The market cap sits at roughly $2,400, with trading volume that rounds to nearly nothing.

The contrast with the Kraken-FIFA deal is instructive. One is a structured commercial partnership between a regulated exchange and an internationally recognized governing body. The other is a speculative token with a four-figure market cap.

Spain and the Spanish football federation have no verified crypto sponsorships at the national team level. The national team space has moved more slowly than club football, and the World Cup has not yet changed that picture for La Roja.