Ronaldo exits World Cup in tears as Spain oust Portugal
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- Portugal were eliminated 1-0 by Spain in the last-16, with Mikel Merino's injury-time strike in Dallas settling a cagey match between the Iberian neighbours.
- Ronaldo, 41, finishes his World Cup career with 11 goals (ninth all-time) as the only player to score in six separate World Cups, netting three times at this tournament (a double vs Uzbekistan and a penalty vs Croatia).
- Roberto Martinez announced he was leaving after the final whistle, saying "it wouldn't make sense to continue" since his World Cup-winning objective had not been met and his contract ends.
- BBC pundit Chris Sutton blamed Martinez for "pandering" to Ronaldo by starting him over Goncalo Ramos, who scored a hat-trick in the 2022 last-16 when Ronaldo was dropped from the lineup.
- Ronaldo created only one chance for a teammate across five games, and 366 outfield players touched the ball more often despite him playing all but nine minutes of Portugal's campaign.
- Portugal's squad featured four players from PSG's past two Champions League-winning sides (Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Joao Neves and Goncalo Ramos) plus Premier League player of the year Bruno Fernandes.
- Wayne Rooney called it "a sad day for football," while Messi — joint top scorer at this World Cup with seven goals — now leads the all-time World Cup scoring list with 20 to Ronaldo's 11.
Why it matters: Portugal's last-16 exit — not the quarters or semis their talent suggested — was decided before Ronaldo even touched the ball: a squad containing four recent Champions League winners and the Premier League's player of the year could not get past Spain on a single injury-time header. With Messi now holding a 20-to-11 World Cup goal lead over Ronaldo and the only World Cup trophy between them, the GOAT debate's last objective tiebreaker has effectively been settled.
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