Spain’s teenage star Lamine Yamal shared a touching moment with: Cristiano Ronaldo after ending one of football’s greatest World Cup careers on Monday. Moments after Spain sealed a dramatic 1-0 win over Portugal in the Round of 16, the 18-year-old was one of the first players to enter the Ronaldo:. As the Portuguese legend stood devastated after the final whistle, Yamal embraced the 41-year-old in a gesture of respect after his sixth and final goal. FIFA World Cup came to an emotional closeness. The Dallas contest was billed as a meeting between two generations. On the one hand is Yamal, the teenage sensation leading the new era in Spain. On the other side stands Ronaldo, one of the greatest players in football history, making his final appearance on the World Cup stage. In the end, youth prevailed. Spain booked their place in the quarter-finals thanks to Mikel Merino’s dramatic winner in the first minute of second-half stoppage time. After initially winning a free-kick, Merino quickly restarted the game, continued his run into the box and finished from Ferran Torres’ pass to beat Diogo Costa and send Spain through. The win also ended Ronaldo’s pursuit of the only major trophy missing from his glittering career. The Portuguese captain, who remains the all-time leader in men’s international football with 146 goals and 233 appearances, broke down in tears after the final whistle. His dream of leading Portugal to its first World Cup title has faded again. Ronaldo had chances during the match but found Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón in inspired form. His best chance came in the 37th minute when João Félix’s header deflected into his path. Ronaldo improvised an acrobatic backheel effort, but Simón recovered well to make the save. Portugal put everyone ahead in a long period of stoppage time, with Bernardo Silva almost finding an equaliser, but Spain’s defense held firm to record a sixth consecutive clean sheet at the World Cup. For Ronaldo, the defeat marked the end of a remarkable World Cup journey that began in 2006, when Portugal reached the semi-finals. He later experienced a Round of 16 exit in 2010, a group stage elimination in 2014, another loss in the Round of 16 in 2018 and a quarter-final finish in 2022 before ending his last campaign at the same stage against Spain.