Merino’s late strike sends Spain past Portugal into quarterfinals

Mikel Merino turned a stoppage-time free kick into Spain’s path to the quarterfinals, scoring in the 91st minute to beat Portugal 1-0 at Dallas Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The finish came after a rapid restart from a foul on Merino, with Portugal still disputing the decision as Spain moved the ball forward and found the opening.

The sequence was a study in timing and composure. Ferran Torres delivered the final pass, slipping the ball behind Portugal’s defense for Merino to run onto, and the midfielder finished calmly into the bottom corner past Diogo Costa. Spain had spent much of the match trying to break down a compact Portuguese back line, but the late move turned a dead-ball moment into a decisive advantage in the first minute of second-half stoppage time.

Spain’s 1-0 win on Monday, July 6, 2026, sent the European champions into the World Cup quarterfinals and ended Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career. The result came in a tense round-of-16 meeting that carried the edge of a recent Iberian rivalry, with Spain and Portugal meeting again after their Nations League final.

The goal underlined how Spain could still manufacture a winning chance when Portugal’s defense had nearly denied them for 90 minutes. Merino, introduced as a substitute, made the most of the smallest margin available, while Torres provided the kind of incisive service that can punish a defense even after a brief lapse in shape. In a match decided by one clean attack, Spain’s bench supplied the final touch and the final pass when the game was slipping into added time.