Spain are into the World Cup quarter-finals after Mikel Merino’s stoppage-time goal broke Portugal in a 1-0 Round of 16 win at AT&T Stadium.
The match had the shape of a knockout stalemate for most of the night. Spain had more of the ball, more shots and more corners, but Portugal kept the game tight long enough to make every late sequence feel decisive.
Merino changed that in the 90th minute plus one. Ferran Torres, who had come on in the 75th minute, slipped a through ball into the center of the box. Merino met it with his left foot and finished into the bottom-left corner, giving Spain the breakthrough Portugal had spent the night trying to deny.
Merino gives Spain the late edge
Spain’s control showed in the numbers. They finished with 55.5% possession, 15 shots, six on target and seven corners. Portugal produced 10 shots but only two on target, and the pressure around Cristiano Ronaldo never turned into a clean final chance.
The ending also leaned on Spain’s bench. Torres supplied the assist. Merino, introduced in the 85th minute, supplied the finish. Those changes gave Spain the extra running and timing they needed after Portugal had absorbed long spells without fully losing shape.
For Portugal, the result lands with a sharper edge because of Ronaldo. The loss ends Portugal’s tournament after a run that had already included Ronaldo’s brace against Uzbekistan and a narrow escape when Portugal beat Croatia in the previous round. This time there was no late rescue.
Spain move on after another controlled knockout performance, following a tournament path that included the win over Uruguay and a team built around a faster kind of control. The method was patient again, but the finish was ruthless.
The decisive moment was simple: Merino’s stoppage-time run, Torres’ pass and one left-footed finish before Portugal could reset. In a game with few clean openings, Spain only needed that one.
