DALLAS — Spain are through to the World Cup quarter-finals after a tense, low-scoring last-16 win over Portugal, sealed by a stoppage-time goal from substitute Mikel Merino at AT&T Stadium on Monday night. The result also brought down the curtain on Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career.
Merino struck in the first minute of second-half added time, six minutes after coming off the bench, to break a deadlock that had held for 90 minutes of cagey, high-stakes football. It sends Spain into a quarter-final against the winner of the United States-Belgium tie, to be played Friday in Los Angeles.
A Tight, Tactical Battle
Spain dominated the ball, finishing with 56% possession to Portugal's 44%, and produced 15 shots for an expected-goals tally of 1.77 — numbers that pointed to control but not to a match that was ever fully settled. Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa was central to keeping the scoreline level for as long as he did, making a string of key saves through the second half.
Portugal, for their part, built their game plan around compactness: cutting passing lanes, slowing the tempo, and forcing Spain's attackers to work in tight spaces rather than in the open channels they prefer. It worked for long stretches. The closest either side came to breaking through before Merino's goal was a Nuno Mendes strike that cannoned off the crossbar, deflected there off the head of Pedro Porro — a warning sign that Portugal had a route to the winner of their own.
Merino's Impact Off the Bench
Merino wasn't in Spain's starting eleven, but he needed only a handful of minutes to decide the tie. His winner came from a well-worked move involving Ferran Torres, underlining how much depth on Spain's bench has mattered through this tournament.
The win also carries some payback: Portugal beat Spain on penalties in the 2025 Nations League final after a 2-2 draw, so Monday's result settles a score as much as it advances a World Cup campaign.
The End of an Era for Ronaldo
For Portugal, the story of the night was as much about an ending as a result. Ronaldo, now the first player to score at six different World Cups, went close in the second half, but Unai Simón produced a smart save to deny him a fairytale moment. It's the closest Portugal have come to a World Cup semi-final in 20 years, and they fell just short again.
Speaking after the match, Ronaldo made clear he has no plans to walk away from the game, even as his time at football's biggest tournament comes to a close.
What's Next
Spain now turn their attention to a quarter-final against either the U.S. or Belgium in Los Angeles. The win keeps their tournament alive, but Monday's performance also raised a familiar question: against well-organized, deep-lying opponents, Spain can be made to work for a long time without truly threatening — and they'll need more than one late moment of magic if they're going to go all the way.
