Spain books spot in World Cup quarterfinals, could face USA soccer

The United States Men’s National Team knows its potential World Cup quarterfinal opponent: Spain.

First, the US will have to beat Belgium in the Round of 16, and the winner of the U.S.-Belgium match will then face the No. 3 team in the world, Spain, after Spain edged Portugal 1-0 with a stoppage-time goal in its Round of 16 match.

This was the sixth consecutive clean sheet for Spain, the first team in World Cup history to do that.

That result, in a game Spain mostly dominated, eliminated Portugal and its aging star, Christian Ronaldo, likely his last World Cup match. After 90 scoreless minutes, Mikel Merino scored for Spain in the first of six minutes of stoppage time.

Stadium: Los Angeles Stadium (SoFi Stadium), Inglewood, Calif.

TV, streaming: FOX (English), Fox One, Telemundo (Spanish), stream with FUBO

No. The US’s only knockout win before beating Bosnia and Herzegovina came in the 2002 Round of 16, when it beat Mexico 2-0 in South Korea. It then lost to Germany in that 2002 quarterfinal.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.