Merino's late goal sends Spain past Portugal to WC QF
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- Spain beat Portugal 1-0 in the World Cup Round of 16 on Monday in Arlington, Texas, advancing to their first quarterfinal since winning the 2010 title, with Mikel Merino scoring the late winner off a Ferran Torres through ball past goalkeeper Diogo Costa.
- Cristiano Ronaldo, who confirmed Monday was his final World Cup, left the pitch visibly upset — the all-time international goals leader fell short of taking Portugal to back-to-back tournament quarterfinals after reaching that stage at Euro 2024.
- Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón extended his record shutout streak to 609 consecutive minutes, surpassing Walter Zenga's 1990 mark of 517, as Spain recorded a sixth straight World Cup clean sheet — a tournament record.
- Portugal manager Roberto Martinez, who had already planned to step down at the end of the World Cup run, called it the team's best match of the tournament and said the players "gave their heart and soul," noting Portugal "lacked a bit of luck in the final third."
- Mikel Merino, who came off the bench to score, told reporters he drew on a difficult personal year — including an injury that kept him from his newborn — to fuel his late impact, with manager Luis de la Fuente calling him "a sure thing" who "won us the Euros."
- Spain will face the winner of Monday's Belgium-United States match in the quarterfinals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Why it matters: Spain's first World Cup quarterfinal in 15 years comes with a tournament-record defensive streak behind Unai Simón's 609-minute shutout run, while Portugal's exit ends Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career after he failed to convert late chances that Martinez said could have changed the result.
