By Michael Church
ARLINGTON, Texas, July 6 (Reuters) – Spain substitute Mikel Merino broke through a stubborn Portugal defence in the 91st minute to earn his side a 1-0 win on Monday to take the former champions into the quarter-finals and bring the curtain down on Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career.
The midfielder scored six minutes after coming off the bench in the Iberian Derby at Dallas Stadium to move the European champions into the last eight, prevailing where his teammates had been frustrated by a determined Portuguese backline.
“Mikel Merino never lets us down, he’s a safe bet,” said Spain coach Luis de la Fuente. “He helped us win the European Championship and is always there when it counts. He’s one of the best players in the world in his position.
“Mikel performs exceptionally well and is always exactly where he needs to be.”
Spain needed the quick-thinking Merino to unlock a Portugal defence that had frustrated de la Fuente’s side throughout a second half dominated by the 2010 title winners.
Introduced from the bench for Dani Olmo, it was Merino who started and finished the move that clinched victory for Spain, who will face either Belgium or the United States, who meet later on Monday, in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Having rolled a quickly-taken free kick to his left, Merino drifted into space on the fringe of the penalty area, where fellow substitute Ferran Torres found his unmarked team mate in the perfect position to strike into the bottom corner.
The outcome left Ronaldo crestfallen, the forward leaving the field to sympathetic cheers from the sold-out crowd as Portugal exited a day after the former Real Madrid forward had confirmed the tournament would be his last World Cup.
EARLY ATTACKING INTENT
The Spaniards progressed after both teams had shown their attacking intent early, Spain’s Mikel Oyarzabal testing goalkeeper Diogo Costa from distance and Portugal’s Joao Cancelo lashing his rising shot over the crossbar.
Oyarzabal should have put his side ahead after eight minutes when a slick move sliced through the Portuguese midfield with Olmo’s incisive first-time pass releasing the Real Sociedad man who dragged his shot wide of Costa’s left post.
Bruno Fernandes then dispossessed Pedri to set up Ronaldo soon after, but keeper Unai Simon blocked the effort with ease.
Portugal’s Costa was then called on to make two saves in quick succession, denying Lamine Yamal from the right and, more spectacularly, Alex Baena’s follow-up with a full-stretch, fingertip effort.
Spain’s Simon saved Joao Felix’s header before pushing away Ronaldo’s volley on the rebound, while Nuno Mendes went closest with a shot that was redirected onto the bar by Spanish defender Pedro Porro’s header as Portugal finished the half on top.
Roberto Martinez’s side were reduced to playing on the counter after the interval, with Spain dominating possession.
Lamine’s free kick was tipped over by Costa while Portuguese midfielder Vitinha’s strike was deflected into the path of Fernandes but he shot into the side-netting.
Merino, however, stepped up to prevent the game going to extra-time, although Portugal substitute Bernardo Silva almost equalised in the 97th, frustratingly heading over the bar.
“We came here with a very clear objective of what we wanted to achieve, which was to win the World Cup, but unfortunately we didn’t perform at our best,” said Fernandes.
“Obviously, Spain deserve credit. They have quality and great players, but I think that, based on what we did in the first half, if we’d carried on like that, we would have come away with a different result.”
(Reporting by Michael Church, additional reporting by Fernando Kallas and Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Ken Ferris)
Comments