Martínez bought his return ticket before the match, and Portugal handed Spain the knife with less than 40% possession.

Dallas, 91st minute. Mikel Merino sends the ball into the Portuguese net.

0-1.

The final whistle blows, drawing a close to Cristiano Ronaldo's sixth World Cup journey. He had just stated in the pre-match press conference that this would be his last.

Portugal died by their own hand. Bruno Fernandes dismantled the act of handing over the knife in the mixed zone: "We had the momentum in the first half, but in the second half we dropped too deep and surrendered possession."

In the first half, they were a title contender who could go toe-to-toe; in the second half, they retreated directly to the penalty area to park the bus. Over the entire match, Portugal managed 7 shots with 2 on target, while Spain had 16 shots with 6 on target. A possession rate of 38.7% was essentially handing the reins of fate directly to the Spanish substitutes.

The goalscorer, Merino, was a substitute. The provider of the defense-splitting through ball, Ferran Torres, was also a substitute. The two players Spain brought off the bench were directly responsible for the goal.

The name Merino is all too familiar to the Portuguese. In the Euro 2024 quarter-final against Germany, he came off the bench and scored a header in the 119th minute for the winner. Coming off the bench to deliver a killer blow in stoppage time; Spain has cultivated their own Reaper, and on the Portuguese bench, there was simply no one with that ruthless edge.

Lacking that killer instinct up front, even the man who should be the most ruthless couldn't break the spell.

From 2006 to 2026, spanning two decades, across eight World Cup knockout matches, Cristiano Ronaldo has taken 29 shots, with his goals from open play remaining at zero. In the last round against Croatia, he ended a 570-minute drought with a penalty.

After 90 minutes, the number of goals from open play in six World Cup knockout tournaments: still zero.

29 shots for a single penalty, and then back to zero.

Unable to break the spell on the pitch, he had long stopped resisting on the sidelines. Head coach Roberto Martinez decided not to renew his contract before the World Cup began, yet still led the team after the news broke. A team aiming for the title, with a captain who bought his return ticket before departure.

His post-match comments carried the tone of a resignation letter, generally suggesting there was no point continuing if they couldn't win the World Cup. In the last round against Croatia, Martinez substituted Ronaldo in the 81st minute, and the captain was visibly displeased. The rift between manager and star player failed to heal, even in Dallas.

Ruben Dias tried to use "a lack of sharpness in front of goal" as a smokescreen after the match.

7 shots with 2 on target is not a lack of sharpness; it's offensive paralysis. Opta's pre-match advancement probabilities had already smelled the trouble: Spain 49.2%, Portugal 25.6%. Next time you watch a major tournament, don't listen to what the coaching staff says; check the odds set by data companies first. They knew the team's real hand better than Martinez did.

In the last five World Cups, Portugal exited in the Round of 16 in 2010, in the group stage in 2014, in the Round of 16 in 2018, in the quarter-finals in 2022, and in the Round of 16 again in 2026. Four out of five times, they've fallen in the Round of 16 or earlier.

More glaring than the elimination itself is the Iberian derby curse. In World Cup history, Portugal has never beaten Spain in regulation time. A 0-1 loss in 2010, a 3-3 draw in 2018, and a 0-1 loss in 2026. They won on penalties in the 2025 Nations League, but in the World Cup's ledger, Spain has yet to lose.

After Merino scored, he ran towards the corner flag. Behind him, the Portuguese players stood still.

No one rushed over to argue, nor did they surround the referee.

Six World Cups, 29 knockout stage shots, 0 goals from open play.