Ronaldo confirms last World Cup as Portugal fall to Spain

Spain 1–0, Portugal out

Your World Cup is over. Portugal 0–1 Spain in the round of 16 in Dallas, and Mikel Merino got the goal that ended it (1) (3). A late one. The game had been scoreless, tense, drifting, then Merino came off the bench and broke it (3). Portugal never found an answer. This was not a robbery. Spain were the better side, and your team looked blunt from start to finish. Lamine Yamal did not even need to shine for Spain to go through (1).

Ronaldo: this was my last World Cup

Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed it afterward. No more World Cups. The 39-year-old captain led the team out for warm-ups as he always does, but by the end he was in tears on the big screen, a mix of applause and whistles around him (1) (3). He leaves the international stage without football's biggest trophy. The man who scored against him, Merino, has now ended the international careers of both Ronaldo and Toni Kroos (3).

Ronaldo: 'Euro 2016 counts as a World Cup'

Ronaldo had a line that will split opinion: "Euro 2016 counts as a World Cup" (4). He said it after the defeat, and you can read it two ways, defiance, or an admission that the real thing slipped away. Either way, it is already bouncing around Portuguese group chats.

Martínez is gone too

Roberto Martínez did not wait. "It was my last game with the Portuguese national team," he said immediately after the whistle (1) (6). He came to win a World Cup and he is leaving without one. Jorge Jesus, formerly of Benfica and Flamengo, is already being floated as a potential successor (1).

Nine players left before the flight home

The squad fractured on the way back. Nine players broke off from the group and did not travel with the team to Lisbon (2) (5). No names given, but the image is clear, this group was ready to scatter the moment the tournament ended.

Martínez and the number six

One strange footnote. Roberto Martínez had a known superstition around the number six, and Mikel Merino wears the number six for Spain (6). Merino scored the goal. Martínez stepped down the same night.

Fan reactions

The mood online is raw. One Real Madrid supporter called the last 24 hours "unbelievable", Portugal's limp exit followed by what they saw as a controversial Argentina match, writing that "the love for the game is dying" link. Another thread crunched the numbers: Portugal were the only UEFA side to fall in the round of 16, alongside three CONMEBOL teams, three from CONCACAF, and Egypt from CAF link. The elimination stings more when you see it laid out like that.