{"id":3932,"date":"2026-07-06T23:39:04","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3932"},"modified":"2026-07-06T23:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T23:39:04","slug":"cristiano-ronaldo-exits-his-final-world-cup-as-portugal-falls-to-spain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3932","title":{"rendered":"Cristiano Ronaldo exits his final World Cup as Portugal falls to Spain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>By STEPHEN HAWKINS<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) \u2014 Cristiano Ronaldo heard the cheers while walking off the pitch after his final World Cup match for Portugal. The stoic look on his face and his brief wave acknowledging the fans showed this wasn\u2019t the desired outcome.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3930\">Mariska Hargitay\u2019s real-life family secret brings her to TheatreWorks Silicon Valley<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The sixth and final World Cup for the 41-year-old superstar ended with a 1-0 loss to border rival Spain in a Round of 16 game on Monday. Ronaldo was denied a goal in the first half when record-setting goalkeeper Unai Sim\u00f3n made an impressive leaping stop.<\/p>\n<p>Ronaldo, the only player to score in six World Cups in a row and the career leader in international goals with 146, took three shots against Spain.<\/p>\n<p>Two of those were on target, including the one on which Sim\u00f3n was still in midair when he reached back to grab the ball with both hands. Ronaldo got off a backward kick with his right foot after a header by teammate Joao Felix bounced off Sim\u00f3n\u2019s shoulder.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3928\">Former Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty dies at 68<\/a><\/p>\n<p>On the day before the round of 16 game, Ronaldo spoke to reporters for about 25 minutes and said he hoped it wouldn\u2019t be his last match and wanted \u201cto enjoy what will be my last World Cup to the fullest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The deepest Ronaldo ever made it in the World Cup was a semifinal run in 2006, his debut in the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Ronaldo\u2019s finale on soccer\u2019s biggest stage came eight years after he recorded a World Cup hat trick at age 33. That was in a 3-3 draw with Spain in a group stage opener considered one of the tournament\u2019s best matches, although both powers didn\u2019t reach the knockout stage.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3926\">Riding the waves: What it\u2019s like to try surfing as a woman over 40<\/a><\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He scored 11 goals in World Cup play, tied for ninth on the career list.<\/p>\n<p>___<\/p>\n<p>See more of AP\u2019s World Cup coverage here<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The deepest Ronaldo ever made it in the World Cup was a semifinal run in 2006, his debut in the tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3931,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3932","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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