Lamine Yamal comforts tearful Cristiano Ronaldo after hearts at World Cup in Portugal – Watch

Spain’s Lamine Yamal, right, hugs Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (7) (AP Photo) Spanish teenage star Lamine Yamal shared a touching moment with Cristiano Ronaldo after ending one of football’s greatest careers at the World Cup on Monday. Shortly after Spain sealed a dramatic 1-0 victory over Portugal in the round of 16, the 18-year-old was among the first players to make the move to Ronaldo. As the Portuguese legend was left devastated after the final whistle, Yamal embraced the 41-year-old in a gesture of respect after his sixth and final FIFA World Cup came to an emotional end. The Dallas contest was billed as a meeting of two generations. On one side was Yamal, the teenage sensation at the forefront of Spain’s new era. On the other side stood Ronaldo, one of the greatest players in football history, making his last appearance on the World Cup stage. In the end, youth won. Spain booked their place in the quarter-finals thanks to Mikel Merino’s dramatic winner in the first minute of the second half. After initially winning the free-kick, Merino quickly restarted the game, continued his run into the box and finished off Ferran Torres’ pass to beat Diogo Costa and send Spain through. The victory also ended Ronaldo’s pursuit of the one major trophy that has eluded him in his glittering career. The Portugal captain, who remains the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football with 146 goals and 233 appearances, left the pitch in tears after the final whistle. His dream of leading Portugal to their first World Cup title has faded again. Ronaldo had chances throughout the match but found Spain goalkeeper Unai Simón in inspired form. He had the best chance in the 37th minute, when João Félix’s header was headed his way. Ronaldo improvised with an acrobatic turn, but Simón recovered brilliantly to save. Portugal threw everything forward during the long stoppage time, with Bernardo Silva coming close to equalizing, but Spain’s defense held firm to record a sixth consecutive World Cup clean sheet. For Ronaldo, defeat marked the end of a remarkable World Cup journey that began in 2006 when Portugal reached the semi-finals. It later experienced a round of 16 exit in 2010, a group stage exit in 2014, another round of 16 defeat in 2018 and a quarter-final in 2022, before its final campaign ended at the same stage against Spain.