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On Monday, the penultimate matchday of the round of 16 of the concluded with two results that nearly completed the lineup of the top eight: Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 in Dallas, and Belgium thrashed United States 4-1 in Seattle.
In the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, the Iberian classic was a match with few chances. La Roja dominated possession against a Portuguese side that was well-organized and relied on counterattacks, and the difference came from a goal by Mikel Merino, who took advantage of one of the few clear opportunities in the match to seal the victory.
The individual duel between Lamine Yamal and Nuno Mendes was one of the main attractions of the match, although the Portuguese defender ended up injured and the young Spanish forward was unable to destabilize the game as he had in previous appearances.
The elimination marked the World Cup farewell of Cristiano Ronaldo, who confirmed tearfully that the 2026 World Cup was his last tournament of this kind, thus concluding 20 years of participation in World Cups —since Germany 2006— with 27 matches and 11 goals.
"Sad to exit the World Cup like this. As I said yesterday, I gave it my all, and I leave with a clear conscience," declared the 41-year-old Portuguese star.
Ronaldo added, "This is the life of a footballer. You have to keep going. Yes, it was my last World Cup. But there will be time to think about everything else, to be with my family, and not to say things in the heat of the moment."
At Lumen Field in Seattle, Belgium left no room for surprises and was overwhelmingly superior from start to finish against the American hosts.
Charles De Ketelaere scored a double, while Hans Vanaken and Romelu Lukaku completed the rout for the Red Devils, led by Domenico Tedesco.
The United States, which arrived hopeful after leading Group D and defeating Bosnia and Herzegovina in the round of 16, never found answers to Belgium's offensive power and bid farewell to the tournament in front of their own crowd.
With this victory, Belgium also completed the elimination of the three host countries of the tournament: the United States, Mexico, and Canada, none of which reached the quarter-finals.
Spain arrived at the tournament as the reigning champion of Euro 2024 and had just triumphed over Austria with a 3-0 victory in the round of 16, keeping their goal untouched. Belgium, on the other hand, staged an epic comeback against Senegal in the previous round, turning around a 0-2 deficit to win 3-2 in extra time.
Both teams will face off in one of the most exciting matchups of the quarter-finals on Friday, July 10 at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, with broadcast coverage on DAZN in Spain and FOX in the United States.
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