Merino reveals why his Euro 2024 winner in Stuttgart was the highlight of his career

Mikel Merino’s extra-time header that sent Spain past Germany in the Euro 2024 quarter-finals was already one of the tournament’s defining moments — but for the Arsenal midfielder, it carried a significance that stretched back more than three decades.

With the scores level after 119 gruelling minutes in Stuttgart, Merino rose to meet a Dani Olmo cross and send La Roja into the semi-finals. It was a goal that sealed Spain’s place in the final four and, as Merino has now revealed, completed a remarkable family story.

“It was the best moment in my career,” Merino told FourFourTwo. “It was a very tough game against probably the favourites at that stage, playing at home in Stuttgart, with their massive support. Before that, Spain had never beaten a tournament host nation. To be able to help the team in a moment like that, it was special.”

The personal dimension runs even deeper. Merino’s father, Ángel Miguel Merino, was a professional footballer whose own career produced a memorable moment in the very same Stuttgart stadium. His goal helped Osasuna to a 3-2 victory over the German club in the 1991-92 UEFA Cup — and he celebrated by running around the corner flag.

Thirty-three years later, his son did exactly the same.

“It was one of the most important goals in his career, and he scored it in that same stadium,” Merino said. “So for me to be able to score there, and celebrate the same way he did, is the highlight of my career so far.”

The goal came during a Spain side that grew into the tournament’s standout team, blending technical quality with attacking flair inspired by a breakout Lamine Yamal. Their run to a second European Championship title was built on moments of individual brilliance and collective resilience — and Merino’s header against the hosts, in a stadium already etched into his family history, sits at the heart of it.