FIFA World Cup 2026: Merino scores as Spain smash Portugal

Substitute Mikel Merino scored a late winner to take Spain to the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Portugal and ending Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career.

The European champions will face the United States – the only remaining host country – or Belgium on Friday in Los Angeles.

In front of a crowd of 70,649 waiting in the air-conditioned home of the Dallas Cowboys, a game that promised so much on paper failed to deliver.

Extra time looked certain, before fellow substitute Ferran Torres came on for Merino to settle the contest in the first minute of added time.

The World Cup final was decidedly tough for 41-year-old Ronaldo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, having confirmed on the eve of the match that it would be his last dance on football’s biggest stage.

The neighbors both arrived unbeaten, but while Portugal had not been entirely convincing, Spain had not even conceded a goal in the tournament.

One of the pre-tournament favourites, he still isn’t.

For all their pedigree, talent and history, Spain have only won the World Cup once, in 2010, while Portugal’s best result was third place in 1966.

Between Ronaldo and Barcelona’s 18-year-old Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal, the last-16 showdown has been billed as a showcase of two extraordinary talents at opposite ends of their careers.

There was a somber moment just before kick-off when a black-and-white image of the late Portuguese striker Diogo Jota appeared on the giant screen looming over the pitch.