Spain beat Cristian Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match in Dallas to book their place in the quaterfinals on Monday.
Updated: July 7, 2026, 10:45 AM IST
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Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (right) fails to beat Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon in FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16 match. (Photo: IANS)
Spain vs Portugal FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 16: The 2010 World Cup champions Spain created history at the AT & T Stadium in Dallas on Monday as they became the first-ever team to maintain six clean sheets in a row – four of them coming in the FIFA World Cup 2026. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon extended his record to 609 minutes without conceding a goal as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal were sent packing from the Round of 16 after a 1-0 loss.
Arsenal’s Mikel Merino came off the bench to score the decisive goal to put Spain in front in the first minute of stoppage time to seal the contest for Spanish coach Luis de la Fuente. It was Ronaldo’s final appearance in a FIFA World Cup match at the age of 41 after turning out six successive editions in his career.
Merino had just been knocked down, and a foul was called by the referee. Even as Portugal’s Bernardo Silva continued an argument, Merino played the ball back in, ran toward the goal and easily beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa after a series of passes.
“He’s one of the best in his position worldwide, and he has given us a fantastic result and a fantastic goal. I want to express the importance of substitutes that came in later in the game. Not just today, but the contribution in other games has been enormous,” Spain coach De la Fuente was quoted as saying by AP news agency.
WATCH Mikel Merino score match-winning goal vs Portugal HERE…
beautiful goal from Arsenal man Mikel Merino
Portugal 1 – 0 Spain pic.twitter.com/NzOaOjKIOK
— haider〽️ (@yahoodisaazish) July 6, 2026
Spain, who are on a 35-game unbeaten streak, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning their only World Cup title in 2010 in South Africa. The ‘La Roja’ will play Belgium, a 4-1 winner over the United States, on Friday at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Ronaldo tried his best to get Portugal to the quarterfinals in a second successive tournament for the first time in their history. But the former Real Madrid star’s career in the World Cup is over as the all-time leader in international goals (146) and appearances (233).
Merino didn’t enter until the 85th minute in the contest, and played with same versatility that helped Arsenal win their first Premier League title in more than 20 years this year. The World Cup was in doubt for Merino, who turned 30 during the tournament, after right foot surgery cut short his Arsenal season.
This was Mikel Merino’s first World Cup goal, and 11th for the national team. “What better way to celebrate. You remember all the good and the bad, and there have been difficult moments for me this year,” Merino said after the match
The European rivals, who played in a friendly in Madrid 105 years ago for first time, were quite the contrast to their most recent World Cup match. It was eight years ago that Ronaldo had his only World Cup hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener that is considered one of the tournament’s best games.
Spain won with the same score-line – 1-0 – against Portugal as they did in the 2010 World Cup Round of 16 match. The best chance for Portugal was with Ronaldo’s backward kick in the 37th minute when Joao Felix’s header deflected off Simon’s left shoulder and popped in the air to Ronaldo. The Al Nassr striker managed to flick the ball with his right foot, but it was soft enough to give Simon time to recover.
“I’ll wake up tomorrow like I woke up today, with a clear conscience. I gave my best. I won three titles with Portugal. Before Cristiano, Portugal hadn’t won any title. So, I’m happy. The biggest title that I won with the national team was in 2016 (European Championship), which for me had the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly,” Ronaldo said after the match.
