Cristiano Ronaldo was supposed to shine at the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup. Instead, the 41-year-old was left in tears as Portugal crashed out of the Round of 16, losing 0-1 to Spain. This was his final World Cup campaign, and he wraps it up with an unlikely record.
He has the most shots (17) on record since 1966 at a single edition of the World Cup without creating a single chance for a teammate. He overtook the previous record holder, Alberto Garcia Aspe (15), set in 1998.
The match looked like it was headed to extra time, but Mikel Merino came to Spain’s rescue in the 91st minute, combining with Ferran Torres, to score a late winner.
It was an entertaining blockbuster as both sides tried to get an early goal, but failed miserably. Mikel Oyarzabal should have scored in the eighth minute after Dani Olmo played him through, but he dragged his shot wide.
Bruno Fernandes also teed up Ronaldo soon after, but Unai Simon saved his shot. Portugal goalkeeper Diogo Costa had to make a double save from Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena.
Before half-time, Simon had to save a header from Joao Felix, and also denied Ronaldo again on the rebound. Nuno Mendes came close for Portugal, but his shot was redirected onto the bar by Pedro Porro.
After half-time, Portugal lost control as Spain increased the pressure. But the Spaniards failed to find the winner until the 91st minute. Substitute Merino took a quick free-kick, and then a quick play saw Torres sending him through on goal, and he calmly slotted it past Costa.
Bernardo Silva almost equalised in the 97th minute, but his header went over the bar.
Speaking after the match, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente said, “Mikel Merino never lets us down, he’s a safe bet.”
“He helped us win the European Championship and is always there when it counts. He’s one of the best players in the world in his position.
“Mikel performs exceptionally well and is always exactly where he needs to be.”
‘Spain deserve credit’: Bruno Fernandes
Meanwhile, Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes said, “We came here with a very clear objective of what we wanted to achieve, which was to win the World Cup, but unfortunately we didn’t perform at our best.”
“Obviously, Spain deserve credit. They have quality and great players, but I think that, based on what we did in the first half, if we’d carried on like that, we would have come away with a different result.”
