Spain edges Portugal 1-0, ends Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup run

Mikel Merino ended Portugal’s resistance in the 90+1 at Dallas Stadium, steering Spain into the World Cup quarter-finals and bringing Cristiano Ronaldo’s latest tournament run to a close. The 1-0 win sent Spain on to a meeting with Belgium, while the same knockout round produced a sharper statement from the Red Devils in Seattle.

Ronaldo entered the tournament at 41 and had already added another line to his record book, becoming the first player to score in six different World Cup editions. He also remained Portugal’s all-time leading scorer in the competition, having passed Eusébio. But Spain held him without a decisive chance when it mattered most, and Merino’s late finish turned a tight match into Portugal’s exit.

Portugal had arrived with momentum after a 2-1 win over Croatia, where Ronaldo converted a penalty and Goncalo Ramos settled the match with a goal in the 90+4. Spain, meanwhile, kept moving through the bracket after earlier beating Austria 3-0, with Mikel Oyarzabal and Pedro Porro among the scorers in that stretch. Against Portugal, the margin was narrower, but the outcome carried more finality.

Belgium matched that sense of authority in Seattle, where it beat the United States 4-1 at Lumen Field before 66,925 spectators. Charles De Ketelaere scored twice and was named FIFA’s Player of the Match, Hans Vanaken added a goal, and Romelu Lukaku closed the scoring in the 90+3. Belgium led 2-1 at halftime and never gave the Americans room to recover.

The defeat deepened the pressure on Mauricio Pochettino’s team, with the elimination tied to defensive errors and a subdued night from figures such as Christian Pulisic. The buildup had already been noisy, with Folarin Balogun’s sanction lifted by FIFA before kickoff, and the result only sharpened the sense that the United States still trails the sides now setting the pace. Spain’s late strike ended one era; Belgium’s four-goal win showed how far the next one has advanced.