{"id":2841,"date":"2026-07-08T13:54:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:54:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/ronaldo-and-portugal-knocked-out-as-spain-beat-them-1-0-in-round-of-16\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:54:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T10:54:13","slug":"ronaldo-and-portugal-knocked-out-as-spain-beat-them-1-0-in-round-of-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/ronaldo-and-portugal-knocked-out-as-spain-beat-them-1-0-in-round-of-16\/","title":{"rendered":"Ronaldo and Portugal Knocked Out as Spain Beat Them 1-0 in Round of 16"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal have been eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a Round of 16 defeat by Spain. The loss ends Portugal\u2019s run and brings a premature close to Ronaldo\u2019s final World Cup campaign.<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Portugal were knocked out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16.<\/li>\n<li>Spain won the match and advanced.<\/li>\n<li>Mikel Merino scored the decisive goal in the 90th minute.<\/li>\n<li>Ronaldo\u2019s appearance at this World Cup was his last.<\/li>\n<li>Spain will play in the quarterfinals against either the USA or Belgium.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The match itself was tightly contested, with both teams holding firm and limiting clear-cut chances. The breakthrough arrived late as Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino found the winner in the 90th minute to send Spain through.<\/p>\n<p>Before the tournament, Ronaldo made it clear this would be his final World Cup. At 41 years old, he leaves the competition without adding the trophy to his record.<\/p>\n<p>With Portugal out, attention now turns to Spain\u2019s next assignment. They will take on either the USA or Belgium in the quarterfinals, after the winner of that matchup is decided.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal have been eliminated from the 2026 FIFA World Cup following a Round of 16 defeat by Spain. The loss ends Portugal\u2019s run and brings a premature close to Ronaldo\u2019s final World Cup campaign. Quick facts Portugal were knocked out of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the Round of 16. Spain [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2840,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Spain Beat Portugal 1-0 as Ronaldo World Cup Ends","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Spain edged Portugal 1-0 in the World Cup Round of 16 as Mikel Merino struck late, ending Cristiano Ronaldo\u2019s campaign and sending","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Spain Beat Portugal 1-0 as Ronaldo World Cup Ends<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Spain edged Portugal 1-0 in the World Cup Round of 16 as Mikel 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