Cristiano Ronaldo’s World Cup career is over as Spain End Portugal’s World Cup Dream

• Cristiano Ronaldo was left in tears after Spain’s dramatic 1-0 victory ended Portugal’s World Cup campaign.

• The defeat brings an emotional close to the football icon’s World Cup career as Spain advanced to the quarter-finals with a stoppage-time winner.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s dream of winning the FIFA World Cup came to a heartbreaking end after Spain defeated Portugal 1-0 in their Round of 16 clash, knocking the Portuguese captain out of what is expected to be his final World Cup appearance.

The emotional 41-year-old was seen in tears after the final whistle as Portugal’s campaign came to an end, bringing the curtain down on a remarkable World Cup career.

Spain secured the decisive victory in stoppage time when substitute Mikel Merino reacted quickly after a foul was awarded. He restarted play, raced into the box and calmly finished past goalkeeper Diogo Costa after receiving a pass from fellow substitute Ferran Torres.

The victory sends Spain into the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since lifting their only World Cup title in South Africa 16 years ago. They will now face either the United States or Belgium for a place in the semi-finals.

For Ronaldo, the defeat marks the end of an extraordinary World Cup journey. The Portugal captain leaves the tournament as the all-time leader in men’s international football with 146 goals and 233 appearances for his country.

Despite scoring three goals during this year’s tournament, Ronaldo struggled to break down Spain’s disciplined defence.

Goalkeeper Unai Simón extended his World Cup clean-sheet streak to 609 minutes, while Spain became the first nation in tournament history to record six consecutive World Cup clean sheets.

The result also denied Portugal the chance to reach back-to-back World Cup quarter-finals, while Ronaldo’s long-standing ambition of lifting football’s biggest trophy ended in heartbreak.