Spain edge Portugal 1-0 to close Ronaldo’s World Cup chapter

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP):

Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 yesterday on a goal by Mikel Merino in the opening minute of second-half injury time, bringing the World Cup story of Cristiano Ronaldo to a close.

After Merino went to ground and a foul was awarded, Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva protested. Merino restarted play, surged forward and finished calmly past Diogo Costa from a Ferran Torres feed.

The result put Spain into the last eight for the first time since their sole World Cup triumph in 2010. Ronaldo had hoped to guide Portugal into consecutive quarter-finals for the first time; instead, football’s biggest stage claims another farewell from the record holder for international goals (146) and caps (233).

Merino only came on in the 85th minute. His alert contribution underlined the flexibility that aided Arsenal’s first Premier League championship in more than two decades this spring. Injuries that also disrupted his club campaign had left his place in Spain’s tournament party in doubt.

The Iberian neighbours first met in a Madrid friendly 105 years ago. Yesterday’s contest differed sharply from their most recent World Cup clash.

Eight years earlier, Ronaldo produced his lone World Cup hat-trick in a 3-3 group opener against Spain that remains among the competition’s most celebrated matches.

At 41, Ronaldo found the net three times at this tournament yet rarely troubled Unai Simón, who stretched his World Cup shut-out sequence to 609 minutes. Spain became the first side to post six consecutive clean sheets at a World Cup.

Portugal’s clearest opening arrived in the 37th minute. A João Félix header glanced off Simón’s left shoulder and hung in the air for Ronaldo, who attempted a deft back-heel. The touch lacked power, and Simón recovered to gather the ball with a dive.

During the last eight minutes of added time, Portugal pressed hard for a leveller. Silva’s header cleared the crossbar by a narrow margin.

The low-scoring contest fell almost a year after Portugal’s UEFA Nations League final win over Spain, a 2-2 contest settled on penalties. Their only other World Cup meeting was also a round-of-16 affair: Spain’s 1-0 win en route to the title in South Africa.