Portugal knocked out of World Cup 2026: Spain win 1-0 in Dallas
Portugal are out of the 2026 World Cup after a 1-0 loss to Spain in the round of 16 at the AT&T Stadium. Mikel Merino scored; it was Ronaldo's last World Cup match.
The dream is over. Portugal lost 1-0 to Spain tonight at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington (Dallas) and are out of the 2026 World Cup at the round-of-16 stage. The Iberian derby nobody wanted this early confirmed what the numbers had been whispering: this Spain side still hasn’t conceded a goal — and now marches on to the quarter-finals.
Who scored in Portugal vs Spain?
Mikel Merino decided it, assisted by Ferran Torres, who had come off the bench to change the game. Portugal chased an equaliser to the very end, but Spain’s defence — unbreached all tournament — held firm once more. Anyone who read our match guide knew the size of the task; in the end, the difference fitted into a single move.
Was this Ronaldo’s last World Cup match?
It was. Cristiano Ronaldo had already confirmed this would be his final World Cup, and the farewell came like this, in Dallas, without the fairy-tale ending half the country had pictured. What remains is a World Cup career no other Portuguese player has matched — and a night that will take some digesting.
The fan zones that filled Portugal tonight emptied in silence. The official match report is on FIFA’s site. Spain go on; for Portugal, the 2026 World Cup ends here. Football gives — and sometimes it takes everything back in ninety minutes.
By Vasco Almada
Image: Giovanni Batista Rodriguez from San Sebastian-Donostia, E… / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)