ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Mikel Merino was still on the bench in the final minutes of regulation, with Spain coach Luis de la Fuente worried about hanging on to his substitutes as long as possible because of looming extra time.
The Arsenal forward made all that fretting moot.
Merino scored in the first minute of second-half stoppage time, and Spain beat Portugal 1-0 on Monday to end the World Cup career of superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Merino had just been
knocked down, and a foul was called. While Portugal's Bernardo Silva argued, Merino played the ball back in, ran toward the goal and easily beat goalkeeper Diogo Costa after a series of passes capped by Ferran Torres' nifty ball through the middle.
“He's one of the best in his position worldwide, and he has given us a fantastic result and a fantastic goal,” de la Fuente said through a translator. “I want to express the importance of substitutes that came in later in the game. Not just today, but the contribution in other games has been enormous.”
Spain, which has a 35-game unbeaten streak, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning its only World Cup title in 2010. La Roja will play Belgium, a 4-1 winner over the United States, on Friday in Inglewood, California.
Ronaldo was trying to get Portugal to the quarterfinals in a second consecutive tournament for the first time. Instead, the career on soccer's biggest stage is over for the all-time leader in international goals (146) and appearances (233).
Merino didn't enter until the 85th minute, and his heads-up play showed some of the versatility that helped Arsenal win its first Premier League title in more than 20 years this spring.
The World Cup was in doubt for Merino, who turned 30 during the tournament, after right foot surgery cut short his Arsenal season.
In the biggest moment of the year for Spain, there he was with fresh legs, finishing with his left foot into the left corner of the net. After emerging from a group hug with his teammates, Merino made a circle around the flag in a corner before letting out a guttural scream while clenching both fists.
That's how his father, Miguel Merino, celebrated more than three decades ago during his club career in Spain. And his son first emulated it after a late goal to beat host Germany to send Spain to the semifinals of the European championship two years ago.
This was Mikel Merino's first World Cup goal, and 11th for the national team.
“What better way to celebrate,” Merino said. “You remember all the good and the bad, and there have been difficult moments for me this year.”
The latest meeting of Iberian Peninsula rivals that first played in a friendly in Madrid 105 years ago was quite the contrast to their most recent World Cup match.
It was eight years ago that Ronaldo had his only World Cup hat trick in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener that is considered one of the tournament's best games.
The 41-year-old superstar scored three times in this tournament, but didn't have many chances against Spain's Unai Simón, who extended his World Cup record to 609 minutes without conceding a goal. Spain became the first team to record six straight shutouts at the World Cup.
The best chance was Ronaldo's nifty backward kick in the 37th minute when Joao Felix’s header deflected off Simón’s left shoulder and popped in the air to Ronaldo. He flicked the ball with his right foot, but it was soft enough to give Simón time to recover and make a leaping grab.
“I’ll wake up tomorrow like I woke up today, with a clear conscience,” said Ronaldo, who a day earlier had repeated his previous declaration that his sixth World Cup would be his last. “I gave my best. I won three titles with Portugal. Before Cristiano, Portugal hadn’t won any title. So, I’m happy. The biggest title that I won with the national team was in 2016 (European Championship), which for me had the same dimension as a World Cup, honestly.”
Portugal desperately pushed for an equalizer in the final eight minutes of stoppage time. Silva had a header that went just over the top of the net.
The defensive struggle came just two days shy of a year since Portugal beat Spain in a riveting UEFA Nations League final that went to penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw.
The other World Cup meeting was Spain's 1-0 victory — also in the round of 16 — when La Roja won the title in South Africa.
“It was a great match. Two superb teams,” de la Fuente said. “As we had said it, it was like an anticipated final. As it was expected, we had to suffer until the very end.”
Until Spain didn't have to suffer anymore — thanks to its super sub.
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