{"id":809127,"date":"2026-07-18T02:02:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T02:02:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/809127\/"},"modified":"2026-07-18T02:02:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T02:02:17","slug":"tackling-messi-huge-challenge-for-spain-in-world-cup-final-merino-world-cup-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/809127\/","title":{"rendered":"Tackling Messi \u2018huge challenge\u2019 for Spain in World Cup final: Merino | World Cup 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"World<\/a><\/p>\n

Spanish midfielder says he has \u2018huge confidence\u2019 in his abilities after his impressive performances as a substitute.<\/p>\n

Published On 17 Jul 202617 Jul 2026<\/p>\n

Spanish super-sub Mikel Merino admitted that neutralising the threat of Lionel Messi will be a \u201chuge challenge\u201d as La Roja prepare for their World Cup final showdown against Argentina.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a huge challenge, an incredible motivation for me and the whole team,\u201d Merino said of facing Messi in his news conference on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to play against a side like Argentina, which has already won this trophy, makes the match even more significant, and I\u2019m very happy to be experiencing this moment,\u201d Merino told reporters at Spain\u2019s training base in East Hanover, New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Argentina skipper Messi, 39, has been pivotal in dragging the defending champions into Sunday\u2019s final in East Rutherford, orchestrating a 2-1 semifinal victory over England with two assists.<\/p>\n

Messi, the tournament\u2019s joint top-scorer with eight goals, also inspired a dramatic comeback against Egypt in the last 16, when Argentina fought back from 2-0 down with 11 minutes remaining to win 3-2.<\/p>\n

Arsenal ace Merino has played a decisive role in Spain\u2019s road to the final, coming off the substitutes\u2019 bench to score late winners in a last-16 defeat of Portugal and a quarterfinal victory over Belgium.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have incredible confidence in myself and my abilities, and every time I step onto the pitch, I believe I can make an impact for the team,\u201d Merino stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut honestly, it doesn\u2019t matter who the hero is; the important thing is that the team wins in the end. \u201cWhen you win a title, it belongs to everyone, not just the starting 11,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Merino, meanwhile, enthused about the \u201cimpressive\u201d talent of 19-year-old Lamine Yamal, who will face Messi for the first time in a clash representing the past and the future of FC Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Merino, 30, predicted that the final would be \u201can intense match\u201d and that the referee would need to \u201ccontrol the intensity and frequency of challenges and fouls\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe faster the ball moves between us, the less time the opposition has to commit a foul,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

The midfielder, who said he did not have \u201cvery clear memories\u201d of Spain\u2019s first World Cup title in 2010, recalled the admiration of that trailblazing side.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing able to represent our country today and be those same players for new generations \u2013 for the children watching us \u2013 is something magical,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Spanish midfielder says he has \u2018huge confidence\u2019 in his abilities after his impressive performances as a substitute. Published…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[440],"tags":[49,48,527,44,561,457,82,772,1690,13010],"class_list":["post-809127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-soccer","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-football","tag-news","tag-soccer","tag-sport","tag-sports","tag-united-states","tag-us-canada","tag-world-cup-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=809127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/809127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=809127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=809127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=809127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}