Portugal vs Spain player ratings: How did Cristiano Ronaldo perform on his World Cup swansong?

Cristiano Ronaldo has surely played his last minutes at a World Cup after Spain ’s substitutes broke Portugal hearts to snatch a last-gasp winner in a cagey last-16 affair . The Iberian rivals struggled to break each other down in a match of attrition, with Nuno Mendes coming closer than anyone inside 90 minutes when his strike was deflected onto the crossbar in the first half. But with none of the contest’s starters having the key to find a winner, Mikel Merino came off the bench to provide another clutch moment for his country in stoppage time, slotting home after being set up by fellow replacement Ferran Torres. Portugal were unable to find a late equaliser to save their World Cup campaign, ending 41-year-old Ronaldo’s dream of adding the elusive title to his trophy collection with retirement looming. Here’s how the players rated from Spain’s 1-0 win over Portugal: Portugal Diogo Costa - 6 Called into action early on to deny Oyarzabal from range, then stretches to make the strong double save to thwart Yamal and Baena from each side. Lost his clean sheet in stoppage time but not much he could do about the goal. Joao Cancelo - 7 Gave Spain trouble as an additional attacking asset down the right but was first and foremost defensively sound, showing a tenacity to win the ball and get Portugal forward. Emptied the tank and subbed. Ruben Dias - 6 Played a big part in nullifying Spain’s threat for so long - but was the man who stepped up and failed to stop Torres’ through ball for Merino’s winner. Maybe his only misstep of the game, but a big one. Renato Veiga - 8 A real imperious presence in the Portugal defence and kept Spain’s attacking dangermen largely at bay during the first half. Put in a crucial block to deny Pedri from outside the box and celebrated like it was a goal. His individual performance deserved a clean sheet, but it was wiped at the death. Renato Veiga impressed for Portugal (Reuters) Nuno Mendes - 7 Strong in every department. Defensively sound but was also at the heart of Portugal’s attacking play - his cross-field ball to Neto was used time and time again and was clearly a tactic Martinez wanted to deploy going into this match. Came closest to breaking the deadlock when his deflected effort rattled the Spain crossbar. Notably did well in his battles with Yamal, though it was this duel that led to his demise - with a lunging recovery challenge seeing him develop a muscle problem. Subbed. Joao Neves - 6 Portugal’s PSG double pivot was passive at times but Neves did show glimpses of positivity in possession, moving it forward and taking risks with searching balls. Threw himself at a late free-kick in a bid to equalise but missed the ball. Vitinha - 5 Same sentiment as above though Vitinha took quite a bit longer to take said risks. Saw an effort from range blocked, and that was about all there was to report from an uneventful outing. Subbed. Pedro Neto - 7 Delivered a delicious ball from the right that sparked Portugal’s best chance of the first half, and then could’ve delivered an assist for Ronaldo after the restart if his captain had anticipated the ball and made it to the back post. Also did his bit at the back, tracking back to support Cancelo just as his right-back did going forward. Subbed. Pedro Neto in action against Spain (Getty) Bruno Fernandes - 4 Anonymous for huge portions of the match. Did get a half-chance when the ball dropped to him in the box, but he was only able to slam into the side-netting. Joao Felix - 6 A bright spark on the left and not afraid to go for the audacious. Was brave to meet Neto’s deep cross at the back-post, heading it back towards Ronaldo who subsequently forced a save out of Simon, while he crashed into the advertising hoarding. Later chipped a nice cross towards Ronaldo which his Al-Nassr team-mate couldn’t finish. Subbed. Cristiano Ronaldo - 5 A typical 41-year-old Ronaldo performance, but just without the silver lining of goals. Not a lot to offer in the build-up department - a normality for him now - so we go to his chances to evaluate his outing. Forced Simon into two stops in the first half but neither were straightforward opportunities. He would’ve had a tap in, though, if he had got to the back post quick enough to meet a quality ball across from Neto after the restart. Alas, he fashioned nothing clear-cut in 90 minutes, which will surely be surely his last at a World Cup. Cristiano Ronaldo was in tears at the final whistle (Reuters) Substitutes: Nelson Semedo (for Mendes, 55’) - 6. Wasn’t a coincidence that Yamal began to have a bit more joy once he’d replaced Mendes. However, he was still in the right place to clean up a Torres cutback, which would’ve been a tap in had a Spanish white shirt met it. Diogo Dalot (for Cancelo, 70’) - 5. Like his fellow full-back replacement above, there was quite the dip in output when Dalot replaced Cancelo, especially going forward - a few attacking forays came to an end at the hands of a loose Dalot pass. Rafael Leao (for Felix, 70’) - 6. Caused a bit of individual trouble for Porro but didn’t create anything meaningful. Bernardo Silva (for Vitinha, 83’) - 5. Should’ve scored a last-gasp equaliser when meeting a cross from the right, but fluffed his header. Then had a row with former team-mate Rodri. Booked. Francisco Conceicao (for Neto, 83’) - 6. Unable to make much of a difference in the little time he had off the bench. Bernardo Silva and Rodri clash in stoppage time (AP) Spain Unai Simon - 7 Made a routine stop to deny Ronaldo early on but made himself big to get a potentially crucial touch on Felix’s header back towards his captain, which allowed him enough time to reposition and dive across to catch Ronaldo’s subsequent effort. Commanding presence in his box, no problems claiming crosses, and a clean sheet in the end. Pedro Porro - 6 Defensively shaky at times but did get the all-important (albeit fortunate) touch to divert Mendes’ shot onto the crossbar towards the end of the first half. Dinked a nice ball through to Yamal who blazed his effort wide. Had some problems against Leao after his introduction but nothing catastrophic. Pau Cubarsi - 7 A bit nervy to start, perhaps showing his teenage years in this Iberian derby, but grew into the game and was given responsibility on the ball against the Portuguese press. Pau Cubarsi (right) and Pedro Porro of Spain (Reuters) Aymeric Laporte - 7 Portugal tried marking the more experienced Spanish centre-back out of the game - Ronaldo was on top of him - which meant he wasn’t particularly involved in their build-up, but he did as required when called upon. Marc Cucurella - 6 Found himself up against it with Neto and Cancelo bombing down that left side and while he was usually able to hold his own, the odd chance did come from him being caught out. Rodri - 8 Got away with an early penalty offence as he tugged Ronaldo’s shirt in the box - you see them given. Other than that, bossed the Spain midfield and crucially had the initiative to take the short free-kick that brought about the winner. Rodri bossed the midfield for Spain (Getty) Dani Olmo - 7 Always looking for a forward pass, he was unlucky not to get an early assist as he slipped through Oyarzabal, who you usually expect to score when one-on-one. Showed an eagerness to get Yamal into the game with his Barcelona team-mate struggling to see much of the ball at time. Subbed. Pedri - 6 Sometimes looked a bit passive but his ability to pick out a special pass or delivery out of nothing was probably second to none, with a superb ball into Cubarsi unfortunate not to be met with a finishing header. Had a brilliant chance to find the opener himself when he received it on the edge of the box, but his shot was blocked by Veiga. Subbed. Lamine Yamal - 6 Unusually quiet for the first hour. He did show signs of life when he was able to go through the gears - notably running onto a Rodri through ball and getting a good effort on goal - but his considerable threat was all but nullified by Mendes, until he came off with injury. A lot more joy in the final 20 minutes or so. Lamine Yamal had a quieter game than usual (Getty) Mikel Oyarzabal - 6 Perhaps the most international footballer of all time, Spain’s marksman started brightly as he forced Costa into a save from range but should have given his country the lead when played in on goal by Olmo inside 10 minutes. Didn’t have a chance as good as that for the rest of the game. Subbed. Alex Baena - 6 Took a minute to find his shooting boots after blazing over early on, but made Costa really stretch to stop a curling effort as Spain began to knock at the door. A later shot on goal with his weaker foot was easy pickings for the Portuguese stopper. Other than that, pretty quiet. Subbed. Substitutes: Ferran Torres (for Baena, 74’) - 7. Got the assist for Spain’s winner, deftly slipped Merino through to finish. Fabian Ruiz (for Pedri, 85’) - 6. Helped sure things up in midfield and see out the win after Merino’s late winner. Mikel Merino (for Olmo, 85’) - 8. Justified the questionable decision to bring off Olmo by slotting home with aplomb in stoppage time. Such an accomplished finish and another clutch goal from the Arsenal midfielder for his country. Mikel Merino scored the only goal of the game (Reuters) Borja Iglesias (for Oyarzabal, 97’) - N/A. Seconds in the tank.