Spain booked their place in the last eight with a narrow 1-0 victory over Portugal in Arlington, Texas, ending Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career.
The contest remained goalless until stoppage time, when substitute Mikel Merino latched onto a quickly taken free-kick and calmly guided the ball beyond goalkeeper Diogo Costa to settle an otherwise tightly contested encounter.
Portugal found it difficult to create clear opportunities, managing only two efforts on target throughout the match, while Spain consistently looked the more threatening side.
For Ronaldo, appearing in his sixth World Cup at the age of 41, the defeat marked the end of a long pursuit of football’s biggest prize. The Portugal captain acknowledged after the match that this would be his final appearance at the tournament but stopped short of announcing his retirement from international football.
“It was my last World Cup, yes, but I’ll take time to think about what comes next, spend time with my family and avoid making any rushed decisions,” Ronaldo said.
“That’s football. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and you have to move forward.”
The former Manchester United and Real Madrid forward said he would leave the World Cup with “a clear conscience”, adding that Portugal’s triumph at the 2016 European Championship remained one of the greatest achievements of his career.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente praised his players after a hard-fought victory.
“It was a fantastic match, almost like a final played earlier than expected,” he said. “We had to work until the final whistle, but the team produced a complete performance.”
Spain and Belgium will now meet in the quarter-finals, with both nations aiming to move one step closer to lifting the World Cup trophy.
