Spain’s imperious start to the World Cup will be put to the test by a Portugal side seeking to defy history and extend Cristiano Ronaldo’s farewell run.
One of the ties of the World Cup Round of 16 sees pre-tournament favourites, Spain, take on a Portugal side for whom talisman Cristiano Ronaldo will play his last game if they’re knocked out, after the 41-year-old announced his retirement in the lead-up to the match.
The Portuguese can consider themselves lucky to have even got to this stage of the tournament after a contentious decision in their match against Croatia in the very last seconds went their way.
Portugal haven’t won successive World Cup knockout games in 20 years
To put into some perspective the task that Roberto Martinez’s side has ahead of them, Portugal haven’t won successive World Cup knockout games in 20 years, though they have won 12 of their last 17 matches in all competitions (D5, L1), and not conceded more than one goal in their last nine games.
Not since 2006, when they triumphed over the Netherlands and England before being dumped out of the tournament by France, have they won consecutive knockout matches, and they play a Spanish team that has won their opening four games in a World Cup for the first time ever, and, what’s more, they’ve yet to concede a goal.
It’s only the second time in World Cup history that a team has kept four successive clean sheets at the tournament, with the last time it happened coming in that 2006 edition, when Switzerland were able to do so.
Given that La Roja also held Morocco scoreless in extra time (before going out on penalties) in 2022, were they not to concede again, it would be the first time ever that any side has gone six games without letting in a goal.
Spain are one game away from equalling all-time unbeaten record
They’ve also not conceded in nine of their last 10 matches, and with the likes of Lamine Yamal and Mikel Oyarzabal in top form already, they and their colleagues have contributed to an unbeaten run (normal time) of 34 matches in all competitions (W25, D9).
That’s only one behind their all-time record, and three shy of Italy’s 37, which is the current best mark amongst European nations.
Indeed, Oyarzabal’s four goals in this edition of the tournament are just one behind David Villa’s five from 2010, when Spain won the tournament courtesy of Andres Iniesta’s late winner in South Africa over the Netherlands.
Austria were no match for them in the Round of 32, and Spain’s eventual 3-0 victory was so comprehensive that they hadn’t allowed their opponents a single shot on target – the first time this had occurred in a World Cup knockout game since Germany had done so in the 2014 final against Argentina.
Ronaldo’s great record against La Roja
Manager, Luis de la Fuente, has also not lost his opening 11 competitive matches, and if his Spain side should go through in this one, he will equal the record of Louis van Gaal and Aime Jacquet as the only managers to remain undefeated in their first dozen competitive games.
Although he’s only ever scored one knockout goal in the World Cup – a penalty in Portugal’s last game against Croatia – Ronaldo is something of a thorn in the side of the Spanish, given that his four goals scored against them can only be equalled by Chile’s Eduardo Vargas.
Indeed, in the last World Cup meeting between the two teams in 2018, Ronaldo’s hat-trick, including a stunning late free-kick, helped his side to a 3-3 draw, in what was a truly epic encounter.
That was one of four draws between the teams, who have also won one fixture each from the six meetings to date.
Portugal are the only team to beat Spain since June 2023
Though Portugal did beat Spain in the Nations League in 2025, that was via a penalty shoot-out, and it remains their sole victory over them since 2004, when Nuno Gomes scored in the European Championship.
That result also represents La Roja’s only defeat since June 2023, and in the last 12 competitive games, Spain has won six, with the other five being drawn.
It’s another indication of the size of the task that faces Ronaldo and Co., and with both sides expected to be at full strength, this could be another game for the purists.