{
  "id": 12476086,
  "title": "Merino double helps Spain beat Croatia, reach Nations League quarters",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/merino-double-helps-spain-beat-croatia-reach-nations-league-quarters",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-06T21:43:26.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/merino-double-helps-spain-beat-210816823.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mikel Merino scored twice as Spain beat Croatia 2-1 in a Nations League match, securing their place in the quarter-finals. Croatia took the lead early through Ivan Perisic, but Merino came on as a substitute to equalise. Perisic was later sent off with 10 minutes left and Merino capitalized on the turnover with a fine finish. Spain has won all four matches in Group A3 and leads England by three points. The team has now gone 42 games without a loss.",
  "summary": "Mikel Merino hit a brace to help World Cup winners Spain seal qualification to the Nations League quarter-finals with a 2-1 win against Croatia on Tuesday.\"It's an honour to coach a player like that,\" said De la Fuente of Merino, who he called up for the World Cup right after he recovered from injury.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Merino double helps Spain beat Croatia, reach Nations League quarters",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/06/merino-double-helps-spain-beat-croatia-reach-nations-league-quarters-12490460",
        "published": "2026-10-06T23:04:53.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}