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Spain's men's national team arrived in Dallas on Saturday (local time) ahead of their FIFA World Cup round of 16 clash against Portugal scheduled for July 7 in Arlington.
It will be a battle of generations as a 41-year-old superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo, will come face-to-face with stars of the present and future generations, such as Lamine Yamal, Nico Williams and Rodri in a star-studded contest. Both teams will be eyeing a spot in the quarterfinals. If things do not go Cristiano's way, it could potentially be his swansong in international football. Spain football's official X handle, SEFutbol, posted on X, "Hello, Dallas! Spain's @SEFutbol arrives at its next stop in the United States to compete in the round of 16 of the World Cup. #VamosEspana | #CopaMundialFIFA" https://x.com/SEFutbol/status/2073280307927650571 La Roja continued their impressive march through the tournament with a 3-0 win over Austria in the round of 32, maintaining a flawless defensive record with three goals and another clean sheet. Forward Mikel Oyarzabal netted a brace, while fullback Pedro Porro scored his first international goal to outclass the Austrians. With this victory, Spain booked their place in the pre-quarters. Spain goalkeeper Unai Simon etched his name into FIFA World Cup history after setting a new record for the longest run without conceding a goal, leading La Roja into the last 16. According to Opta Jose, Simon has now gone 519 consecutive World Cup minutes without conceding, surpassing the previous record of 517 minutes held by Italy's Walter Zenga. The clean sheet against Austria was his fourth of the tournament and extended Spain's remarkable defensive streak to 595 minutes across five consecutive World Cup matches without letting in a goal Spain are yet to concede in the ongoing tournament, underlining their dominance at both ends of the pitch as they registered their first World Cup knockout-stage victory since lifting the trophy in South Africa in 2010. (ANI)
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