Mikel Merino struck deep into stoppage time to fire Spain past Portugal in Dallas and book Luis de la Fuente’s side a place in the FIFA World Cup 2026 quarter-finals.
Spain will now travel to Los Angeles to face Belgium as their bid for global glory gathers momentum.
“It was a game of patience and belief,” De la Fuente said after the match. “The players showed maturity, and in the end, we found the moment we needed.”
A tense first half offered chances but no breakthrough. Mikel Oyarzabal squandered Spain’s clearest opening when he dragged wide after being played through by Dani Olmo, while Diogo Costa produced a superb save to turn Alex Baena’s curling effort behind.
Portugal carried their own threat, with Cristiano Ronaldo at the centre of it. Their closest moment came when Nuno Mendes saw a deflected strike crash back off the crossbar.
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Roberto Martínez admitted his side lacked a cutting edge. “We competed well and created danger, but at this level small details decide everything,” he said. “We were punished at the end.”
The second period became increasingly cagey, with both sides wary of overcommitting. As extra time loomed, Spain found their decisive moment through two substitutes. Ferran Torres picked out Merino, who drilled a precise low finish beyond Costa to settle the contest.
Match-winner Merino said: “I just focused on hitting it cleanly. In games like this, you only need one chance. Thankfully, it went in.”
The result also appears to mark the end of Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup journey. The Portugal captain had confirmed before the match that this would be his final appearance on the tournament’s biggest stage.
“This will be my last World Cup,” Ronaldo said in the build-up.
The 41-year-old bows out having scored 11 goals across 27 World Cup matches, and having become the first player in history to score in six different editions of the tournament.
