Ronaldo (left) shoots as Aymeric Laporte defends during the Portugal versus Spain match in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup at Dallas Stadium, Texas, US, on 6/7. Photo: AP

DAZN, a global sports streaming platform, rated Ronaldo 4,8 points, stating: "A weak shot from 6 meters summed up a difficult evening".

Livescore, a score update platform, also gave the Portugal captain the lowest rating of 4,8 points, commenting: "A disappointing evening for Ronaldo with almost negligible contribution. He shot too softly at the goalkeeper from 6 meters in a situation that required precision".

Fotmob also rated Ronaldo 6,4 points, the lowest among the 22 starting players, on par with center-back Ruben Dias. Meanwhile, another renowned statistics provider, Sofascore, rated the Al Nassr forward 6,8 points, slightly higher than his two teammates, Vitinha and Dias, who both received 6,6 points.

Diogo Costa received the highest rating for Portugal. The goalkeeper made 5 saves, including three blocks inside the penalty area, helping Portugal keep a clean sheet until second-half stoppage time.

Ronaldo's unsuccessful overhead kick

Regarding Ronaldo's performance, The Independent commented: "A typical Ronaldo performance at 41 years old, but this time lacking the familiar highlight of goals. He did not contribute much to offensive play, which has become common now, so the opportunities he had were the main measure of his performance".

Throughout the match, Ronaldo had two shots on target that did not trouble goalkeeper Unai Simon in the first half, and missed an opportunity when he failed to reach Pedro Neto's cross at the far post. "For 90 minutes, Ronaldo did not create any further sharp situations", the author added.

However, according to The Independent, Bruno Fernandes was the player with the lowest rating at 4 points. "He was largely invisible for most of the match. Fernandes had one not-so-clear opportunity when the ball bounced into the penalty area, but his subsequent shot only hit the side netting", the newspaper commented.

Merino scores in stoppage time.

At AT&T Stadium (also known as Dallas), Texas on 6/7, Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes, touching the ball 19 times, completing 83% of his passes with one chance created, taking three shots with two on target, failing to dribble past an opponent once, and losing possession three times. Fernandes touched the ball 67 times, made two accurate crosses, created two scoring opportunities, and lost possession 19 times. The lackluster performances of these two key players meant Portugal created no clear chances, with an expected goals (xG) statistic of 0,6.

The decisive moment of the match came in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. Ferran Torres played a through ball for Mikel Merino to enter the penalty area and score with a one-touch finish to the near post, sending Spain into the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup. Their next opponent will be the US or Belgium.

By Hong Duy