The Matador Unbreachable: Spain Writes a Miracle

Spain, the top contender for the title, continued its steady march in the 2026 World Cup, overcoming one of the toughest obstacles by eliminating Portugal in their Round of 16 match. The game remained goalless until Mikel Merino scored a late winner to secure a valuable qualification for Spain. This victory gave Spain an unprecedented historic achievement in the World Cup: the 2010 champions became the first team in World Cup history to keep six consecutive clean sheets. Spain began their campaign in the American World Cup with a goalless draw against Cape Verde, then beat Saudi Arabia 4-0, followed by a 1-0 win over Uruguay. In the Round of 32, Spain thrashed Austria 3-0, before beating Portugal 1-0 in the Round of 16. In the previous edition (Qatar 2022), they had a goalless draw against Morocco in regular and extra time, which the Atlas Lions won on penalties.