Image source: Alamy Stock Photo
2026 World Cup
Round of 16
Portugal v Spain
Monday 6 July
21:00
Dallas Stadium
Iberian rivals Portugal and Spain will light up the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup when they meet at the Dallas Stadium on the evening of Monday 6 July. Kick-off at 21:00.
Current form
Portugal claimed a dramatic, come-from-behind 2-1 win over Croatia in the Round of 16 on Friday. Trailing to an Ivan Perisic strike, A Seleção needed a penalty from Cristiano Ronaldo midway through the second half to level the game, before CR7’s substitute, Gonçalo Ramos, scored a winner in injury time.
Roberto Martinez’s team were unimpressive in the first round, coming home in second place in Group K after a 1-1 draw with DR Congo, 5-0 win over Uzbekistan and 0-0 draw with table-toppers Colombia.
Spain also failed to capture the imagination in the first round, though they did top Group H thanks to a goalless stalemate with Cape Verde, and wins over Saudi Arabia (4-0) and Uruguay (1-0).
However, they put up a deeply impressive showing in the Round of 16, crushing Austria 3-0 in Los Angeles on Thursday thanks to a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a strike by right-back Pedro Porro.
Team news
Portugal have a fully fit squad heading into this match, with the only question mark being whether coach Roberto Martinez is willing to bench Ronaldo in favour of starting Ramos – the match winner against Croatia.
Spain will hope to have Nico Williams and Yeremy Pino available after moderate injuries kept them out of the Round of 32 win over Austria.
Quotes
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez
“When you look at all the Round of 32 [matches], France was superior. But the other matches, what has been decisive were the details. The match against Spain will be like that.”
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente
“There is still room for improvement. Perhaps you think you have seen the best of us, but this team has not yet reached its capabilities. There is more to do. Today’s performance should be the foundation for what comes next. We are going to keep improving and doing things better … We are not yet satisfied, we are going for more.”
Head-to-head
Portugal and Spain have met in 41 matches, with La Roja claiming 18 wins compared to seven for A Seleção, with 16 games drawn. That includes two previous World Cup meetings: a 1-0 win for Spain in the Round of 16 in 2010, and a thrilling 3-3 draw in the group stage in 2018.
The teams’ most recent meeting was in the UEFA Nations League final in June 2025 in Munich: the match ended 2-2 after goals from Martin Zubimendi, Nuno Mendes, Oyarzabal and Ronaldo, before Portugal won the title on penalties.
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