{"id":2000118527,"date":"2026-07-07T09:12:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:12:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/?p=2000118527"},"modified":"2026-07-07T09:12:15","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T07:12:15","slug":"cristiano-ronaldos-world-cup-journey-ends-as-portugal-fall-to-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/cristiano-ronaldos-world-cup-journey-ends-as-portugal-fall-to-spain\/","title":{"rendered":"Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup journey ends as Portugal fall to Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The decisive moment arrived deep into stoppage time when substitute midfielder Mikel Merino struck the winning goal, ending Portugal’s campaign and leaving Ronaldo to reflect on what was likely his final appearance at football’s biggest tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 41, Ronaldo had entered the competition chasing the one major international honour missing from his decorated career. Although he had previously guided Portugal to success at the 2016 European Championship and the 2019 and 2025 UEFA Nations League, the World Cup trophy remained beyond his reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Portugal captain admitted after the match that he would not feature at another World Cup but said he needed time before making a decision on his wider international future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I’m sad to be leaving the World Cup like this. I gave it my all. I did my best. It was my last World Cup, yes, but I’ll now have time to reflect and be with my family. I won’t be making any rash decisions,” Ronaldo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I don’t decide anything in the heat of the moment. Now is not important whether I will continue [to play]. Tomorrow I will get up the same way I got up today: with a clear conscience.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ronaldo, who has represented Portugal for 23 years, highlighted the achievements he has helped deliver for his country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I played 23 years in the national team and won three titles. Before Cristiano, Portugal had not won anything. The Euros was the most important. For me, 2016 has the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next major international tournament, the 2028 European Championship hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland, would come when Ronaldo is 43, making his continued involvement uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spain edge tense Iberian battle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last-16 clash between two European rivals was a cautious encounter, with Spain controlling possession while Portugal looked to threaten on counter-attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spain created the better opportunities in the first half but failed to convert, while Portugal struggled to consistently trouble their opponents despite having attacking options capable of changing the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portugal coach Roberto Mart\u00ednez made a notable change to his starting lineup, bringing in Jo\u00e3o F\u00e9lix ahead of Rafael Le\u00e3o, who had impressed in the previous round against Croatia. The decision was aimed at adding defensive discipline against Spain’s dangerous winger Lamine Yamal, though it reduced Portugal’s attacking threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The match remained finely balanced until Merino’s late intervention settled the contest and sent Spain through to the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Ronaldo, the defeat marked the end of a remarkable World Cup chapter. He leaves the tournament as one of the greatest players never to lift the famous trophy, having become the first player in history to score in six different World Cup editions and built one of the most celebrated careers in football history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mart\u00ednez steps down after Portugal exit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Portugal coach Roberto Mart\u00ednez confirmed he would leave his position following the defeat, saying his objective had been to win the World Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I came to Portugal to win the World Cup and I think that, without winning it, there’s no point in continuing,” Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“My contract ends today. There isn’t much more to say.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mart\u00ednez also paid tribute to Ronaldo, praising his leadership and commitment throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He was an exemplary captain. Not just in terms of goals, the statistics speak for themselves, but also in terms of assists,” Mart\u00ednez said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s his day-to-day commitment, the way he lives and breathes football. He’s an example and something we must celebrate.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added: “This is not the moment to look beyond what we’re talking about: a soccer icon. There are not many Cristiano Ronaldos.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"
Spain’s Lamine Yamal takes a shot.\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Mikel Merino celebrates with teammate Fabian Ruiz after scoring his team’s first goal during the match with Portugal on Monday.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
The match remained finely balanced until Merino’s late intervention settled the contest and sent Spain through to the quarter-finals.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Ronaldo is dejected after Portugal were knocked out of the World Cup by Spain.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cristiano Ronaldo’s pursuit of a first FIFA World Cup title came to an end on Monday night as Portugal were eliminated by Spain in the last 16 following a 1-0 defeat in Dallas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000118534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[151],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-2000118527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports","tag-editors-choice","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000118534,"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/MixCollage-07-Jul-2026-09-08-AM-8950.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":886,"height":600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/MixCollage-07-Jul-2026-09-08-AM-8950.jpg","width":886,"height":600},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/MixCollage-07-Jul-2026-09-08-AM-8950.jpg","width":886,"height":600},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/MixCollage-07-Jul-2026-09-08-AM-8950.jpg","width":886,"height":600},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/MixCollage-07-Jul-2026-09-08-AM-8950.jpg","width":886,"height":600},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/cdn.igihe.com\/en\/2026\/07\/MixCollage-07-Jul-2026-09-08-AM-8950.jpg","width":886,"height":600}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000118527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2000118527"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000118527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2000118538,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2000118527\/revisions\/2000118538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000118534"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2000118527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2000118527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2000118527"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=2000118527"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=2000118527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}