Spain edges Portugal to end Ronaldo’s World Cup dream

Mikel Merino scored a late winner to put Spain in the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Portugal and end Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career on Monday. The European champions will face the United States – the only one of the co-hosts remaining – or Belgium on Friday in Los Angeles.For a player who has spent more than two decades carrying Portugal through some of its greatest nights, there would be no last heroic goal, no final act of defiance and no fairytale farewell. The World Cup, the one prize that forever escaped him, remained just beyond his grasp.It meant a sour final World Cup match for the 41-year-old Ronaldo, now playing in Saudi Arabia, having confirmed on the eve of the encounter that this would be his last dance on football's biggest stage.

He just played his final World Cup match.

Cristiano Ronaldo. 41 years old.

From the streets of Madeira to the pinnacle of football, this is his story:

Born into poverty, he underwent heart surgery at 15. At just 12, he left home alone for a football academy, crying himself to… pic.twitter.com/52kqXNMSdP

— Naksh (@Naksh005) July 6, 2026

Extra time looked certain, before fellow substitute Ferran Torres slipped in Merino to settle the contest in the first minute of injury time. For all their pedigree, talent and history, Spain have only lifted the World Cup once, in 2010, while Portugal's best was third place in 1966.