You recieve merchandising only if he is on the possible 12 on the match, and it is not important if he dont plays, or plays 48 mins, but he has to be convocated to the match...
Well, there is nothing I can do now... but... for the next time, to dont let us lose merchandising, you can lineup those 5 players as backup and reserve too, and then nominate the other 7 players with highest salarie to dont give them a bad imapct with merchandising.