Trossard shines while Merino frustrated as Arsenal stars feature in World Cup draws

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·16 June 2026

Trossard shines while Merino frustrated as Arsenal stars feature in World Cup draws

Arsenal’s international contingent continued their World Cup journeys on Monday, with Leandro Trossard and Mikel Merino both featuring as Belgium and Spain were held to draws in their opening group-stage fixtures.

While neither nation managed to secure all three points, there were encouraging individual performances from the Gunners duo as Group G and Group H remain finely balanced after the opening round of matches.

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Trossard shines despite Belgium being held by Egypt

Leandro Trossard played the full 90 minutes as Belgium opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-1 draw against Egypt in Seattle.

Belgium made a difficult start to proceedings when Emam Ashour fired Egypt into an early lead, leaving the European side chasing the game for much of the contest.

Trossard was one of Belgium’s brightest attacking outlets throughout and frequently looked capable of unlocking the Egyptian defence. The Red Devils eventually found their equaliser midway through the second half when Mohamed Hany turned the ball into his own net under pressure.

The Arsenal winger almost helped Belgium snatch a winner late on, producing a clever flick into the path of Thomas Meunier. However, the defender could only fire straight at goalkeeper Mustafa Shobeir.

The draw means all four teams in Group G are level on one point after Iran and New Zealand played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the group’s other fixture.

Belgium will now turn their attention to Sunday’s clash with Iran, knowing a victory could put them in a strong position to reach the knockout stages.

Merino unable to inspire Spain to victory

Earlier in the day, Spain suffered one of the surprises of the opening round as they were held to a goalless draw by World Cup debutants Cape Verde in Atlanta.

The European champions dominated large spells of the contest and created numerous opportunities but were unable to find the breakthrough.

Mikel Merino was introduced in the 71st minute as Spain searched for a winning goal, but the Arsenal midfielder could not help Luis de la Fuente’s side find a way through a stubborn Cape Verde defence.

David Raya and Martin Zubimendi were both named among the substitutes but remained unused throughout the match.

Despite the disappointment of dropping points, Spain remain well placed in Group H after Saudi Arabia and Uruguay also shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw later in the day.

That leaves all four teams in the group level on one point heading into the second round of fixtures.

Spain will return to action against Saudi Arabia on Sunday, while Arsenal supporters will be hoping Merino, Raya and Zubimendi can help La Roja secure their first victory of the tournament.

Martin Odegaard will captain Norway when they face Iraq tonight, then England are in action v Croatia tomorrow evening where 4 of our Gunners could feature.

Enjoying the World Cup so far Gooners?

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