France v Spain plotlines: Merino to remain a supersub

A familiar clamour is rising: Mike Merino should be starting for Spain

Mikel Merino celebrates a late winner in Los Angeles. Pic: David Ramos/Getty

Tailor-made Merino to remain Spain’s supersub 

After rising to the rescue yet again in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, a familiar clamour began: Mike Merino should be starting for Spain.

Yet again, Luis de la Fuente put an immediate stop to it. La Roja manager has been at the helm for all 12 of the Arsenal utility man’s international goals. The weight of so many of Merino’s dozen has been massive: a 119th-minute winner in a Euros quarter-final against Germany, an injury-time equaliser against the Netherlands in the Nations League quarter-final, the injury-time winner to end Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career here a week ago and the 88th-minute decider against the Belgians. That’s impact.

“Merino has many virtues, he could play in any national team and any club, and for us he is tailor-made for this model,” De la Fuente said after beating Belgium. “Whenever we need him, he’s always there.” Which means he will be at hand on the bench when battle begins in Dallas.

Barton the temperamental man in middle 

“After review! No.10! Paraguay! Cover his mouth! Decision is…RED CARD!!” — Ivan Barton delivering the historic first-ever dismissal under FIFA’s new verbal abuse laws as though he were addressing soldiers on the eve of battle was a highlight of the group stages.

If it feels like weeks ago that’s because it was, almost a full month passing since the Salvadorian official dismissed Miguel Almiron in the Turkey match.

In Dallas, Barton will be back, this time on the biggest stage of his life. FIFA raised plenty of eyebrows in appointing the 35-year-old to one of the biggest matches of the tournament.

Those who follow CONCACAF football were well aware of the diminutive Barton’s exuberance. His reputation doesn’t fit particularly well with the ‘soft touch’ refereeing approach we’ve seen here.

Barton has handed out four red cards in his last five fixtures and has some infamous nights on his watch, a 2023 Mexico-USA clash seeing both sides end with nine men. He averages five yellows a game.

Rodri and Kylian Mbappe will do well to remind their teammates to stay on the narrow soft side of Barton’s temper.

1600 reasons for locals to join party 

While police in Atlanta finalise plans for the hopefully merry mingling of hordes of Argentine and English fans, Dallas PD have had an easy few days. Neither France nor Spain travel in big numbers and prices for the last of nine World Cup games out at the home of the Cowboys have dropped accordingly.

Despite the meeting of Mbappe and Lamine Yamal seeing a rapid mural painted in the city’s east end, resale data showed a 60% plunge in get-in prices. That may sound positive but you’d still need $1600 spare to secure a seat.

So, expect much more of a local flavour for what is a 2pm Tuesday lunchtime kickoff here. Atmosphere may suffer. As the most exciting team at the tournament, the onus will be on France to spark them into life.

Mendieta’s moment finally added to

Spain’s peculiar record at this global gathering has been given a welcome boost by the efforts of De la Fuente’s 2026 brigade in recent weeks.

If you forgive its quirky phrasing, the following quiz question would flummox a few: coming into this World Cup, if you omit their victorious 2010 campaign, how many World Cup knockout games had Spain won in the previous 32 years? The answer is, remarkably, just one — and it’s a parochial technicality. The torturous image of Gaizka Mendieta’s decisive penalty rolling over Shay Given’s leg in Suwon was Spain’s sole good memory from the 1998, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2018 and 2022 editions combined.

Here, Rodri and Co. have already trebled that tally.