06 July,2026 08:42 AM IST | New York | Agencies
Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo vs Croatia on Thursday. Pic/AFP
Spain and Portugal will renew one of international football's fiercest rivalries on Monday when they meet in a blockbuster World Cup round-of-16 tie, with one of the tournament favourites guaranteed to make an early exit. Spain remain among the leading contenders for the title after a comfortable 3-0 victory over Austria.
The teams last met in the 2025 UEFA Nations League Final, when Portugal prevailed on penalties after a 2-2 draw. Portugal coach Roberto Martinez made the bold decision to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in the 82nd minute of his team's narrow last-32 win over Croatia, with substitute Goncalo Ramos scoring the decisive goal.
That has raised fresh questions over whether Martinez could leave Ronaldo, 41, on the bench, but Simon warned against underestimating the forward's enduring quality. "The Cristiano we see now isn't the Cristiano of six or seven years ago, but you have to keep him as far from the penalty area as possible. He had one chance in the Nations League [final] and scored it. He still has that desire to score goals that you want in your side," Simon told reporters as quoted by Xinhua.
"In the box, Cristiano turns himself around to finish, look for passes, create space... He has great experience and teammates he's played with for a long time and understands everything perfectly. If he gets into the box, he's decisive," he added.
519
No. of consecutive minutes in which Unai Simon has not conceded a goal at the World Cup - the most ever for any goalkeeper
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
