Spain end Ronaldo's World Cup and Belgium knock out the USA to reach the quarters

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Spain reached the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Portugal, substitute Mikel Merino settling a tense Iberian derby in the first minute of stoppage time after Ferran Torres slipped him in. According to ESPN, the defeat ended Cristiano Ronaldo's World Cup career, the 41-year-old going out in the last 16 in a game where Diogo Costa had earlier denied Lamine Yamal and Ronaldo's bicycle kick was saved.

Belgium ended the United States' tournament with a 4-1 win in Seattle, Charles De Ketelaere scoring twice and setting up another as they exposed the hosts' defence. Malik Tillman's deflected free kick offered brief hope, per NBC News, but the co-hosts were well beaten and eliminated.

The results set up a Spain–Belgium quarter-final and, per ESPN, added two more names to a last eight that already featured France, Morocco, Norway and England.

Transfer and squad notes

Ronaldo's exit brought the curtain down on the international tournament career of one of the game's defining figures, his final World Cup ending at the round-of-16 stage as Spain's youth prevailed, according to NBC Miami.

The USA match was preceded by an off-pitch controversy, with FIFA having reversed a one-game ban on striker Folarin Balogun after his red card and Belgium's subsequent appeal being denied, per Yahoo Sports; Balogun was available but could not prevent the defeat.

What it means for the league

All three co-hosts are now out, Canada, Mexico and the United States eliminated in the knockouts, an unusual outcome for tournaments so often shaped by home advantage. Ronaldo's departure marks a generational shift as Yamal's Spain march on, and the quarter-finals are taking their final shape around a mix of heavyweights and surprises. The last eight will be completed on July 7 when Argentina face Egypt and Switzerland meet Colombia.