Soccer <\/p>\n
Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente insisted “we don’t care who we face” at the World Cup after defeating Portugal in the last 16.<\/p>\n
Mikel Merino came off the bench to score in the 91st minute and clinch a 1-0 win at Dallas Stadium, sending the European champions into the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n
Merino’s winner for Spain was the 10th last-minute winner (90th or 120th) scored at the 2026 World Cup, the outright most in a single edition in the competition’s history.<\/p>\n
It was also Spain’s 11th 1-0 victory at the World Cup, with only Germany (17) and Brazil (13) having more in the competition.<\/p>\n
La Roja will face either the United States or Belgium in the next round, though De la Fuente is not bothered\u00a0by who comes next.<\/p>\n
“It was truly a fantastic game, a final before the final, and, as expected, we suffered until the very end,” said the Spain boss.<\/p>\n
“At this stage, we don’t care who we face, we’re happy to be in the quarter-finals and we’re going to give it our all until the end.<\/p>\n
“We have many qualities that will make our opponents think we’re the team to beat. We have a lot of confidence in ourselves, we’re very sure of ourselves, and we’ll give our best until the very last moment.<\/p>\n
“Our opponents will have to beat us. I think we have many advantages that will make our opponents think the same way.”<\/p>\n
\n10 \u2013 There have now been 10 last minute winners (90th or 120th) at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the outright most in a single edition of the competition.<\/p>\n
Hydration. pic.twitter.com\/6GbODOT5Et<\/a><\/p>\n