Mikel Merino ran on to Ferran Torres’s through-ball in stoppage time and, with impressive calm after a scrappy game that had largely lacked it, rolled the winner past Diogo Costa. The goal sent Spain into the quarter-finals and left Cristiano Ronaldo standing bleakly in the middle distance, mortality having caught up with him at last.
Merino celebrated with a run around the corner flag, echoing his father’s celebration after scoring for Osasuna in Stuttgart in 1991. At the other end, an actual centre-forward slumped. For Ronaldo, this was the end. He is the only player to score in six World Cups, but he will not score in another one. At 41, the tournament is finally all over for a player whose longevity has been a marvel.
“Mikel Merino's stoppage-time winner ends Portugal's World Cup and forces Roberto Martinez to quit as manager.”
Ronaldo’s end has been coming for at least four years, since the last-16 tie at the Qatar World Cup when he was left out against Switzerland and his replacement, Gonçalo Ramos, scored a hat-trick in a 6-1 win. On Monday night in Dallas, there was sadness in the most impotent of farewells.
Roberto Martinez confirmed that the defeat would be his last as Portugal manager. The former Belgium head coach, in charge since January 2023, said: "It's the end of the cycle. It's important to have a new voice, a new leader. I take with myself the memories, and hope that Portugal has good memories in the three and a half years I was head coach of the team. It was the experience of my life. It had not been decided previously [that I would leave after the tournament]. I came with the goal to win the World Cup, and because I did not win, it does not make sense to continue."
Ronaldo, who confirmed this would be his last appearance at a World Cup finals but stopped short of saying whether he would retire from international football entirely, said: "My conscience is clear."