Spain eliminates Portugal from the World Cup with a late goal – Ronaldo's final World Cup ends in Dallas

Early Spanish chances, lucky escape for Portugal before the break

The "reigning European champion Spain" dictated the play from the start and registered the first attempt as early as the 3rd minute through Mikel Oyarzabal, which Diogo Costa in the Portuguese goal was able to save. Five minutes later, Oyarzabal ran onto a through ball from Dani Olmo and went one-on-one with Costa, but pushed the ball past the far post.

Portugal's biggest chance before the break came in the 41st minute through Nuno Mendes: his shot from the edge of the box was unluckily headed by Pedro Porro onto his own crossbar. Earlier, the Spaniards had created two double chances in the 16th and 17th minutes through Lamine Yamal and Álex Baena, but Costa saved both shots.

Ronaldo's quiet farewell: only 16 touches, no goal

Cristiano Ronaldo, who had announced before the match that "diese WM wird für Cristiano Ronaldo die letzte sein," had only 16 touches over 90 minutes – the fewest of any starter – and registered three shots on the Spanish goal. In the 12th minute, he tested Unai Simón with a shot to the near corner, but the Basque goalkeeper was equal to it. In the 37th minute, the 41-year-old tried acrobatically with a bicycle kick following a header from João Félix, but did not generate enough power behind the ball.

After the restart, Spain increased the pressure but initially only managed half-chances: Baena was denied by Costa in the 65th minute before Yamal curled a "per Direkt-Freistoß (73.)" direct free kick at the Portuguese goal in the 73rd minute. Portugal reacted, bringing on Diogo Dalot and Rafael Leão in the 71st minute for offensive impetus, but Nuno Mendes had to be substituted through injury in the 56th minute – "Yamal-Gegenspieler Nuno Mendes muss verletzt raus."

Merino's golden goal in stoppage time

The decisive moment came in the first minute of stoppage time. "Als sich alles schon auf eine Verlängerung einstellte, traf der in der 85. Minute eingewechselte Merino. Das Goldtor in der Nachspielzeit (90.+1) resultierte aus einem Abwehrfehler." Ferran Torres, who had come on in the 75th minute for Baena, had played a textbook pass to Merino. The former Dortmund player, now under contract with Arsenal FC, finished precisely into the near corner and sparked the late Spanish celebrations. "Das zuvor letzte WM-Duell 2018 hatte 3:3 geendet, wobei Ronaldo alle drei Portugal-Tore erzielt hatte" – this time the Portuguese captain failed to find the net.

During the six minutes of stoppage time, the Portuguese threw everything forward, but João Neves headed narrowly past the post in the 99th minute and Bernardo Silva sent a header over the crossbar in the 96th minute. "Bis gestern waren die Portugiesen so was wie ein Angstgegner für die großen Nachbarn," the APA news agency wrote, but in the end it was no longer enough for the 2016 European champions. Portugal coach Roberto Martínez subsequently spoke of a "Fest für den Fußball."

Spain's bench players as the key – de la Fuente praises the squad's depth

Spain's coach Luis de la Fuente, "65 Jahre" old and long responsible for the "Furia Roja," praised the substitutes above all after the final whistle: "Es war ein Spiel zweier sehr starker Teams. Wir haben alles gegeben und sind glücklich, dass wir so weit gekommen sind. Die wichtigen Spieler sind diejenigen, die von der Bank kommen. Zu Merino habe ich gesagt, dass wir so spielen sollten wie immer. Der Beitrag der Spieler von der Bank war meisterhaft, aber das ist das, was wir haben, weil wir 26 Spieler auf sehr hohem Niveau haben." About the 18-year-old Lamine Yamal he said: "Er liebt genau solche Spiele."

With the 1-0 victory, Spain extends its impressive run and "Seit 35 Länderspielen ist der amtierende Europameister ungeschlagen." Goalkeeper Unai Simón kept a clean sheet in his fifth tournament match as well and set a World Cup record with 609 minutes without conceding. For the Spaniards, who are "Der regierende Europameister Spanien," the tournament now continues on Friday in the quarterfinal in Los Angeles (kickoff 9:00 p.m. local time) against the winner of the Round of 16 match between hosts USA and Belgium.

Generational duel between Yamal and Ronaldo

The duel between Yamal and Ronaldo had been billed as a "Generationenduell" – "Wegen des Altersunterschiedes zwischen Yamal (18) und Ronaldo (41) gilt das Spiel auch als Generationenduell." The teenager from FC Barcelona's youth academy, whose market value is reported by Transfermarkt to be 200 million euros, said before the match: "Es ist natürlich eine Ehre, gegen Cristiano zu spielen" and added with a view to the tasks ahead: "Wir sind Spanien, wir haben vor niemandem Angst."

The match was simultaneously "Im iberischen Derby" between the two neighbors the 41st meeting in football history. After the 2025 Nations League final, which Portugal had won on penalties against de la Fuente's team, Spain now struck back. "Im Vorjahr hatten sie der Truppe von Trainerlegende Luis de la Fuente den Nations-League-Titel im Elfmeterschießen weggeschnappt." The historical head-to-head between the two nations stands at 17 Spanish wins, 18 draws, and six Portuguese victories; "erst im 16. Duell feierte Portugal den ersten Sieg."

Exit in the Round of 16: Ronaldo's title dream is over

For Cristiano Ronaldo, who stands at 233 caps and 146 goals in the Seleção shirt and – with five Champions League titles, five FIFA World Player of the Year awards, as well as numerous league titles in England, Spain, Italy, and Saudi Arabia – ranks among the most successful players in history, the dream of a World Cup title has now finally burst. Even before the match, the now 41-year-old, who was born on February 5, 1985, in Funchal and has been under contract with the Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr FC since 2023, had declared: "Wir alle versuchen, den Titeltraum zu verwirklichen."

Spain's quarterfinal opponent will be determined on Tuesday (2:00 a.m. CEST, live on Das Erste and in the stream at sportschau.de) in the match between the USA and Belgium. Should de la Fuente's team reach the semifinal, it would return to Dallas, where the tournament began so happily for them.

Portugal coach Roberto Martínez, the Catalan coach of the "Seleção," had previously stated: "Wir reden hier vom größten Spieler der Geschichte," and even after the elimination he found conciliatory words. "Es war ein Spiel zweier sehr starker Teams. Wir haben alles gegeben und sind glücklich, dass wir so weit gekommen sind," the dpa quoted the Spanish coach of the Portuguese, without disguising the pain of his team.