Merino’s late strike sends Spain past Portugal in drab World Cup last-16 tie
Substitute Mikel Merino came off the bench to break Portuguese hearts as Spain scraped a 1-0 win over Portugal in a dull World Cup round-of-16 encounter on Monday.
The Arsenal midfielder was thrown on in the 85th minute and needed just 6 minutes to make his mark, netting in the 91st minute with a composed finish that ultimately separated the two sides.
For long periods, Spain struggled to find rhythm. La Roja were flat and lacked creativity, but Merino’s late intervention proved decisive.
Spain started brightly enough. Mikel Oyarzabal had the best early chance, but dragged his shot wide after breaking through on goal. Minutes later, Diogo Costa was forced into a sharp double save to deny curling efforts from Lamine Yamal and Alex Baena. That was about as good as it got for Spain in the first half. Portugal sat deep and stayed organized, successfully shutting down Yamal for most of the night. Without their young winger finding space, Spain looked short of ideas going forward.
Defensively, however, both teams were solid. Spain did well to keep Portugal quiet, with Cristiano Ronaldo seeing very little of the ball and unable to get into the game. The second half failed to spark. Spain dominated possession but created almost nothing. Yamal continued to toil on the wing, while Baena couldn’t find a way through Portugal’s defensive block.
The game turned when Luis de la Fuente made a double change. On came Ferran Torres and Merino, and the pair linked up to decide it. Torres produced a clever flick that put Merino in, and the midfielder kept his cool to slot low past a helpless Costa before running off to celebrate.
Merino is quickly becoming Spain’s go-to impact sub, and he delivered again when it mattered most.
For Portugal, it was a night to forget. The result also likely marks the end of the World Cup road for Cristiano Ronaldo, who at 41 looks set to miss out on the 2026 tournament and will be a major doubt for Euro 2028 as well.
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