Spain has officially punched its ticket to the quarterfinal round following a dramatic 1-0 victory over Portugal, secured deep in stoppage time at Dallas Stadium. With the Round of 16 now in the rearview mirror, La Roja has their match date and venue locked in, leaving only their next opponent left to be determined.
During a blistering first half, both powerhouse nations generated several dangerous scoring opportunities, forcing Unai Simon and Diogo Costa to step up with spectacular shifts in goal. After a cagey and heavily defensive second half, Ferran Torres unlocked the defense by sliding a brilliant through ball to Mikel Merino on a quick-restart set piece, allowing Merino to slot home the game-winner in the 91st minute.
The thrilling, late-game execution also signaled the final World Cup appearance of international icon Cristiano Ronaldo, who had formally confirmed his looming tournament retirement during a pre-match press conference. Now, 18-year-old phenom Lamine Yamal stands on the precipice of history, chasing a championship dream in his very first World Cup campaign.
Who and when will Spain play the quarterfinals?
Spain is slated to square off against the winner of the highly anticipated Round of 16 clash between the USMNT and Belgium, which kicks off tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. As soon as the final whistle blows at Seattle Stadium, the quarterfinal matchup pitting Yamal’s squad against tonight’s victor will be officially set for Friday, July 10th, at 3:00 p.m. ET.
Mikel Merino #6 of Spain scores the winning goal against Portugal.
La Roja has crossed paths with the USMNT just once before in tournament history, dating all the way back to the 1950 edition where the European powerhouse collected a 3-1 victory. Conversely, Spain has never faced Belgium on the World Cup stage, with the most recent encounter between the two nations occurring during an international friendly back in 2016.
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Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup dream ends as Spain eliminate Portugal thanks to Merino’s goal
Which stadium will host Portugal game in the Quarterfinals?
The designated battleground for this upcoming clash will be SoFi Stadium, rebranded for the duration of the 2026 World Cup as Los Angeles Stadium. The state-of-the-art home of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Chargers, which previously hosted the USMNT’s tournament opener against Paraguay, boasts a capacity of 70,242 spectators. This quarterfinal matchup will mark the eighth and final World Cup fixture held at the venue, following Spain’s dominant 3-0 group-stage victory over Austria.
