Published On 7/7/2026
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Last update: 06:36 (Mecca time)
The Spanish national team continued to make history in the 2026 World Cup, after defeating its Portuguese neighbor with an unanswered goal, to reserve its place in the semi-finals, and at the same time set a series of records that strengthened its position among the most prominent candidates to win the title.
On the other hand, the Portuguese national team emerged with a new negative record, after continuing its disappointing results in the knockout matches.
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Spanish defense writes history
The Spanish national team became the first team in the history of the World Cup to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive matches, raising its streak to 10 hours and 9 minutes without conceding a goal, in an unprecedented achievement in the history of the tournament.
This number reflects the defensive solidity shown by the team, led by its coach, De La Fuente, after it succeeded in closing all openings to its competitors throughout the final rounds.
A deadly goal that continues to break records
Mikel Merino gave Spain the qualification card with a goal he scored in the last minutes, making it the tenth goal scored in the 90th minute or later during the 2026 World Cup, and the highest number of late goals in a single edition of the World Cup.
Merino’s goal also became the second winning goal for Spain scored in the 90th minute in the history of its participation in the World Cup, after the goal scored by Peru against Mexico in the 1962 edition.
The victory over Portugal was Spain’s 11th with a score of 1-0 in the history of its participation in the World Cup, making it the third most successful team to achieve this type of victories, behind Germany, which has 17 wins, and Brazil, which has achieved 13 victories by the same score.
Portugal continues to falter
On the other hand, the Portuguese national team continued its negative results in the knockout rounds, after losing or exiting the tournament in 6 of the last 8 matches it played in the knockout stages, even though it had lost only one match during the first five knockout matches in its history at the World Cup.
Portugal’s offensive suffering increased against Spain, as the team failed to shoot any ball between the three posts during the second half, while only two shots out of five attempts came after the break, both in stoppage time.
Substitutes make the difference
Merino’s goal came after a decisive pass from fellow substitute Ferran Torres, making it the third goal in the history of the Spanish national team at the World Cup, made by a substitute player and scored by another substitute player.
This scenario has only been achieved twice before, the first in the 1982 edition when Enrique Saura scored with a pass from Kenny against Yugoslavia, and the second in the 2014 World Cup when Juan Mata scored with a pass from Cesc Fabregas against Australia.
Arsenal’s imprint…and technical stability since 2010
Mikel Merino registered his name in a distinguished record, after he became the fifth different Arsenal player to score in the 2026 World Cup, and it is the largest number of different London club players to score in one edition of the World Cup.
The Spanish coach also maintained the same starting lineup for the second match in a row, in a precedent that occurred for the first time since the semi-final and final matches in the edition in which the Spanish national team won the World Cup title in 2010, in reference to the technical stability that “La Roja” is experiencing in the current tournament.
