The Spanish national team qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2026 World Cup, after snatching a fatal victory over its Portuguese counterpart with a goal without a response, in the confrontation that brought them together this evening at Dallas Stadium in the round of 16 of the tournament.
With this victory, the Spanish national team continued its journey in the World Cup, setting a date in the quarter-finals with the winner of the confrontation between the United States of America and Belgium.
The first half witnessed great caution from the two teams, with An exchange of offensive attempts without success in scoring the net. Mikel Oyarzabal almost gave Spain the advantage early in the seventh minute after a pass from Dani Olmo, but his ball went past the post.
The Portuguese team responded quickly, when Cristiano Ronaldo fired a powerful shot in the 11th minute, but the Spanish goalkeeper blocked it brilliantly, before Lamine Yamal wasted a dangerous opportunity in the 16th minute, after the Portuguese goalkeeper excelled in clearing his shot, then returned to deny Alex Baena from scoring at the same time. The attack.
The excitement continued in the first half, as the Portuguese goalkeeper saved his goal from a dangerous long ball in the 30th minute, while Dani Olmo's header went past the post, while Joao Felix wasted a chance for Portugal in the 37th minute after a new brilliance from the Spanish goalkeeper. Before the end of the half, Pedro Boro cleared a dangerous ball from Nuno Mendes before it hit the crossbar, ending the first half in a goalless draw.
In the second half, the two teams continued their search for the qualifying goal, and the Portuguese goalkeeper blocked Lamine Yamal’s shot from a direct free kick in the 72nd minute, before Ferran Torres wasted a valuable opportunity in the 79th minute after a last-minute defensive intervention.
The match remained open until stoppage time, When substitute Mikel Merino took advantage of a pass from Ferran Torres, he fired a powerful low ball into the penalty area into the net in the 90+1 minute, giving Spain the fatal winning goal.
The Portuguese national team tried to come back in the last moments, but Silva missed the opportunity to equalize in the 90+6 minute, so the confrontation ended with Spain’s victory with an unanswered goal and a ticket to the World Cup quarter-finals. 2026.