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The Spanish national team managed to exclude Portugal from the 2026 World Cup by winning… Cristiano Ronaldo’s teammates One goal without an answer in the 1/8 finals of the 2026 World Cup.
Mikel Merino scored the only goal of the match at the end of the second half.
With this result, the Spanish team will meet the winner of the United States of America and Belgium in the quarterfinals of the World Championship.
Mikel Oyarzabal squandered the first chance of the match after being completely one-on-one with goalkeeper Diogo Costa in the 8th minute, following Dani Olmo’s excellent pass that eluded the defense, but he fired a low shot past the left post.
Cristiano Ronaldo tried to answer Oyarzabal’s threat in the 12th minute after the latter broke into the penalty area with the ball and shot from the right wing, but goalkeeper Unai Simon blocked it and the ball turned into a corner.
Portugal’s most notable chance came in the 41st minute when Nuno Mendes took a short corner kick from the right, which he then recovered before entering the box and firing a rocket towards goal that hit the post.
The match was halted in the 54th minute after Portugal full-back Nuno Mendes went down as the medical team moved in to provide treatment. However, the Parisian star was unable to complete his challenge against Yamin Yamal and left the field, replaced by Nelson Semedo.
Spain came close to scoring in the 61st minute when Dani Olmo’s cross was met by Pedri with a shot on the edge of the box, but the ball went over the bar.
Bruno Fernandes took advantage of a loose ball in Spain’s penalty area in the 76th minute, where he positioned his body to control it before firing inside, but the ball went into the side-netting.
The only goal of the match came in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, after Mikel Merino received a special pass from Ferran Torres, went one-on-one with Costa and fired a powerful shot into the net.
