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LAST 16: Spain vs Portugal | Jul 6, Dallas (Arlington)
The last 16 hands us a HEAVYWEIGHT — the Iberian derby. 🔴🟡 Spain face Portugal at AT&T Stadium, Arlington (Jul 6). Win or go home, and there is no bigger, no more emotional last-16 tie on the board. How we got here: top of Group H, growing into the tournament, then a masterclass in the R32 — a commanding 3-0 over Austria (Oyarzabal a brace, Pedro Porro thumping the second), total control, a clean sheet, Austria not managing a single shot on target. This young Roja is peaking at exactly the right time. But Portugal are a giant, and this is a true derby — form and logic go out the window. Cristiano Ronaldo still chasing history, plus Bruno Fernándes, Vitinha, Rafael Leão — elite quality all over the pitch, physical, ruthless on the counter, and desperate to beat their neighbours. The occasion, the rivalry, the edge: this will be tight, tense and fierce. Emotion could decide as much as football. The plan: impose OUR game — dominate the ball, Rodri controlling, Pedri unlocking, Yamal and Nico Williams isolating their full-backs. Patience against a dangerous side, ruthlessness when the chance comes, and total discipline against their counters and Ronaldo in the box. Keep our heads in the heat of a derby. Key battle: our possession and youth (Yamal, Pedri) vs Portugal's star power and counter threat (Ronaldo, Leão). Control the tempo, control the tie. My prediction: 2-1 Spain. A classic, edgy Iberian derby, but our control and quality just edge it. ¡A por la Copa! 🔴🟡 #WorldCup2026 #ESP #ESPPOR #Knockouts
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Full time: Portugal 0-1 Spain. A taut, high-quality Iberian derby is settled by the tightest of margins as substitute Mikel Merino strikes deep in stoppage time (90'+1'), finishing from Ferran Torres's pass to send Spain into the quarter-finals. For 90 minutes the sides largely cancelled each other out in a tense, tactical battle, before Luis de la Fuente's substitutions proved decisive. The result also writes a poignant final chapter: Cristiano Ronaldo's last World Cup ends in defeat, Portugal unable to find a way past a disciplined, controlled Spain despite a late Bernardo Silva chance. This young Roja — patient, composed and increasingly battle-hardened — march on as genuine contenders for the trophy. #WorldCup2026
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FULL TIME: PORTUGAL 0-1 SPAIN — ¡A CUARTOS! 🔴🟡 The derby delivered everything, and we held our nerve when it mattered most. A tight, tense, fierce Iberian battle — exactly as I said it would be — decided by the finest of margins: super-sub Mikel Merino, off the bench, finishing coolly at the near post in the 91st minute after Ferran Torres slipped him in. Ice-cold, ruthless, DECISIVE. We controlled the ball, we stayed patient and disciplined against a dangerous Portugal, and we struck when it counted most. I called 2-1: got the WIN spot on, just missed the exact score in a game settled by a single moment of quality. And yes — full respect to Cristiano, a true legend bowing out of his final World Cup. But tonight belongs to la Roja. On to the quarter-finals! ¡A por la Copa! 🔴🟡 #ESP #ESPPOR #WorldCup2026