Spain strike late on to go through and send Portugal and Ronaldo home | OneFootball

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FULL TIME! SPAIN ARE THROUGH!

Merino's late, late goal is the difference as Spain sneak past their Iberian rivals.

It's a deserved win given they were the only side going for the win in the second half.

It's surely the end for Cristiano Ronaldo and what a dismal way for him and his teammates to go out.

Portugal need a miracle now.

Can they do something? Time is running out.

GOAL! MERINO WINS IT!!!!!

He only scores big goals and that might be bis biggest yet!!!!!

A quick free kick catches Portugal out, Torres finds the Arsenal man and he makes no mistake.

Inching our way towards extra-time.

Fabián Ruiz and Mikel Merino are on now too for Olmo and Pedri.

Merino loves a big goal...

Vitinha and Pedro Neto make way for them.

Big calls from the Portugal manager. Will they pay off?

Into the final 10 minutes here... Will Roberto Martínez make more changes? Bernardo Silva and Francisco Conceição are set to come on.

A brilliant run from Torres sees him latch onto Yamal's fine pass but Portugal get the ball away for a corner.

It's turned into a chess game with both sides very cautious of the other's moves.

One goal will likely decide this.

Bruno Fernandes hits the side netting with a speculative half-volley from a tough angle.

Baena comes off for Ferran Torres as Luis de la Fuente makes his first change.

CLOSE FROM YAMAL!

He whips a fine free-kick in from the right but it's a simple enough tip over the bar for Costa.

The Portugal keeper has been dominant here.

Rafael Leão and Diogo Dalot are on as Felix and Cancelo make way.

Portugal are so compact and solid as the players break for the second hydration break.

Yamal looks for a free-kick off Semedo but his pleas are waived away.

The Barcelona superstar has not been at his best tonight albeit he is almost certainly not fully fit.

Won't be lone before we see a few changes.

Both sides have stacked benches.

Pedri fires over but there's a deflection from the impressive Renato Veiga.

One goal could be enough here.

Ronaldo has had some runs in this second half reminiscent of days gone by.

Could he yet be the difference maker here? Ramos could come on soon having been put through his paces at half time.

The tempo has slowed in the second half. It's unsurprising given how fast the first 45 was.

It could get very tense very soon.

Nuno Mendes is set to come off after tweaking something.

A massive blow for Portugal's hopes of making it to the last eight.

Nelson Semedo is on in his place and has to deal with Yamal right away.

Yamal gets past the lightning quick Mendes but his ball into the box finds Cancelo rather than a teammate.

Baena should have done more to get on the end of his teammate's ball.

570 minutes and counting for Unai Simón without conceding a goal.

A stunning record that means Spain might just need one goal in any game.

This game is lacking everything but the final touch.

Neto flies down the wing on the counter but his ball into the box is too quick for anyone.

BACK UNDERWAY!

Buckle up for another huge 45 minutes.

No changes for either side.

HALF TIME!

No we won't but what a brilliant goalless 45 minutes we've had.

Very little between the neighbours as expected.

Six minutes of added time. Will we see a goal before the break?

João Félix has his critics but he is putting in a serious shift here.

He tracks back and takes the ball off the toe off Yamal. Not something we expected to see tonight.

Mendes is undoubtedly the best left back in the world right now and he's showing exactly why in Dallas.

OFF THE BAR!!!!

But he was almost breached there!

Spain switch off and Nuno Mendes hammers the ball towards goal. It takes a nick off the head of Pedro Porro and cracks off the bar.

Closest we've come.

Unai Simón is approaching nine halves without conceding a goal at this tournament. Incredible.

Pedro Neto is down holding his heel while Félix is receiving light treatment after flying into the advertisement boards.

CLOSE FROM RONALDO!

Really good football from Portugal leads to João Félix connecting with a cross at the back post.

Ronaldo acrobatically flicks the rebound goalbound but it's just kept out.

The roof could come off this stadium if he scores.

Renato Veiga does very well to block an attempted through ball to Yamal.

One would forget he was at Chelsea for a minute.

And we're back and it's about time we had a goal.

Who's gonna get it?

Hydration break is here and it's more than deserved.

Some effort from both sides.

This has been a brilliant game so far with the only surprise being that a goal has yet to be scored.

Surely a few will come.

DOUBLE SAVE!

Costa comes to Portugal's rescue, making a routine save from Yamal's first effort before doing brilliantly to prevent Álex Baena from scoring with the rebound.

Ronaldo has his first sight of goal and fires at Unai Simón from a narrow angle.

Nice ball from Fernandes to find him.

Breakneck pace here so far.

Ronaldo goes down at a Fernandes corner. There might be a check.

Thrilling start here overall with both sides looking to play.

WHAT A MISS!

Dani Olmo slips in Oyarzabal, who puts the ball just wide of the post.

Considering his incredible form for his country, you'd have put a lot on him scoring.

Mendes goes flying down the wing before sending the ball across the field to fellow full-back João Cancelo.

His shot is fiercely hit but goes high and wide.

Nuno Mendes almost collects a raking cross field ball.

He was in space too. Will Lamine Yamal track back tonight?

There is talent absolutely everywhere on this pitch but it feels like midfield is where the game will be won.

Bruno Fernandes has yet to truly show his best at this tournament. Could he be the difference tonight?

First chance goes to Mikel Oyazarzabal, who capitalises on some slack Portugal defending but fires straight at Diogo Costa.

Ropey start at the back for them.

KICK OFF!

And we're off at the home of the world famous Dallas Cowboys.

This feels very big-time. Let's hope it lives up to its potential.

And we're off at the home of the world famous Dallas Cowboys.

This feels very big-time. Let's hope it lives up to its potential.

The roof is closed as the anthems are played out.

What an atmosphere.

The players are walking out onto the pitch.

It's a huge ask for Portugal given Spain are yet to concede a goal but with the likes of Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha and more on their side, they could breach Unai Simon's goal at last.

Just over 10 minutes away from kick off in Dallas and the excitement is palpable inside the stadium.

Spain also knocked their Iberian rivals out of the 2010 World Cup on their way to their one and only success, while Portugal won the Nations League on penalties over their far bigger neighbours 12 months ago.

There's plenty of history and let's hope tonight is their best clash yet.

And here's a look at the starting XIs when these sides last faced off in the World Cup, back in 2018.

That match ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw, thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick. And with him starting tonight, are we set for more CR7 magic?

Some context as to why this is such an interesting game tonight. We can't wait for this one.

And there is the confirmation. Ronaldo starts!

Nothing confirmed from the Portugal camp yet but it looks as if Ronaldo will start again this evening ...

Ronaldo has arrived in Dallas ...

Later on we've got USA v Belgium and in case you've been living under a rock you might not have heard about one of this World Cup's biggest controversies ...

Here's CR7 talking about enjoying his last World Cup ...

Will this be Cristiano Ronaldo's final ever World Cup game? The Ballon d'Or winner has been hit and miss so far in this tournament and, should he play this evening, will be up against a side who are yet to concede in four games. It's going to be a fascinating battle of wills.

That's the exact same side that beat Austria, so Pedro Porro stays at right-back whilst Lamine Yamal joins him on the right flank.

As is tradition now with Spain, they've named their XI two hours before kick off. So here it is. We will have to wait for Portugal's ...

Good evening everyone and welcome to another fascinating day of World Cup action. First up is a European heavyweight tussle as Spain face Portugal before USA take on Belgium overnight. You can follow every moment of the action right here.