Mikel Merino was the hero as Spain pipped Portugal to progress to the quarterfinals of the ongoing World Cup, Yankee scores reports.
The first last-eight since they won it all in 2010 in South Africa.
The Arlington Slick
With the game looking like it was heading for overtime in Arlington, Texas, Ferran Torres played a through-ball that released Merino in the penalty area and he fired past Diogo Costa to give Spain the breakthrough goal in the 1-0 victory over their Iberian Peninsula neighbours.
Merino had just been tackled and a foul was called. Merino was given the ball by Torres, played it back in, ran toward the goal and beat goalkeeper Costa, as a Portugal defender argued.
Luis de la Fuente’s side had a nervy finish as Portugal nearly equalised on two occasions but Spain held on to their lead in a game that could be Cristiano Ronaldo’s last in a Portugal shirt.
Spain now wait to see who they will play in the quarter-finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, with the winner of Monday’s game between Belgium and the United States standing in their way.
Ronaldo, clearly upset after the final whistle, was looking to take Portugal to the quarterfinals in a second straight tournament for the first time after making it to that stage at the 2024 European Championship.
But the career on soccer’s biggest stage is over for the legendary striker, the all-time leader in international goals, who said before the Spain game that 2026 would be his last World Cup.
The Great Wall of Spain
It was Spain’s sixth shutout in a row in World Cup play, a tournament record, and goalkeeper Unai Simón extended his record streak without allowing a goal to 609 minutes.
Spain shared the record for most consecutive World Cup matches without conceding with Italy (1990) and Switzerland (2006–10). The run to Spain began with a 0-0 draw in the round of 16 in 2022, where Morocco won on penalties.
There was also a surprising 0-0 draw with Cape Verde to open group play in this tournament, followed by four consecutive shutout wins to advance to the quarterfinals.
