Cristiano Ronaldo’s international career at football’s biggest tournament has come to an end, after a stoppage-time strike from substitute Mikel Merino gave Spain a 1-0 win over Portugal in the round of 16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
For 90 tense minutes, the match between the two Iberian neighbors who share a border, club teammates, and similar styles of play refused to produce a breakthrough.
Spain looked the sharper side early, with Mikel Oyarzabal missing a golden one-on-one chance in the opening minutes and goalkeeper Diogo Costa producing a string of fine saves to deny Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena.
Portugal’s best moment came when a deflected Nuno Mendes effort crashed off the crossbar, while Ronaldo twice went close, first with an acrobatic effort and later with a low shot that Unai Simón held onto.
With the game seemingly drifting toward extra time, Spain’s substitutes changed the story. In the 91st minute, Ferran Torres on for less than half an hour slipped a pass into the box for Mikel Merino, who calmly finished low past Costa for the only goal of the game.
Portugal pushed for an equalizer in the closing moments, with substitute Bernardo Silva heading narrowly over the bar, but Spain held on to advance to the quarterfinals, where they will face the winner of the USA-Belgium tie.
The result also marked the last World Cup appearance of Ronaldo’s career. The 41-year-old, who had confirmed before kickoff that this would be his final tournament, finishes with 27 World Cup appearances second only to Lionel Messi’s 30 and 11 goals, tying him for ninth on the all-time World Cup scoring list. He remains the only player to have scored in six different World Cups.
Visibly emotional after the final whistle, Ronaldo applauded Portugal’s traveling fans with tears in his eyes. He told reporters he was leaving with a clear conscience after giving everything he had, adding that while this was his last World Cup, he wasn’t ready to make any decisions about retiring from international football altogether.
Portugal manager Roberto Martínez praised Ronaldo’s leadership throughout the tournament, calling him an example both as a player and as a person, even as he acknowledged the campaign fell short.
Ronaldo’s Portugal side reached the tournament with high expectations but managed only two goals across his 351 minutes of play in matches against teams that made the knockout rounds a quiet finish, statistically, to a historic career that also includes a Euro 2016 title and 146 international goals for Portugal, the most in men’s international football history.