Rodri: Spain still have room to improve after Portugal win – we need to be quicker

Spain captain Rodri believes his side have significant room for improvement despite grinding out a Round of 16 victory over Portugal at the World Cup. The tense affair in Arlington, Texas, was decided by a stoppage-time strike from Mikel Merino, who broke Portuguese hearts and left Cristiano Ronaldo in tears after his final World Cup appearance. The win sends Spain to Los Angeles for a quarterfinal clash against Belgium on Friday. Rodri, named Man of the Match, put in a masterful midfield performance: a game-high 106 touches, 87 passes, and seven successful tackles. But when asked if Spain had shown their best, the Ballon d'Or winner was measured. “There’s plenty we can improve. We need to rest and keep getting better... We’re very similar to Portugal – we want to control the ball and show our identity. It comes down to details. The first real chance we created came when we got inside – and that led to Merino’s goal. That’s something to learn from. We have to be sharper because we can cause a lot of damage,” Rodri said. Spain dominated the stats with 15 shots but created only two clear-cut chances: an early attempt by Mikel Oyarzabal and the decisive moment from Merino. Rodri explained what was missing in the final third: “In modern football, you have to speed up in the final third. When we broke their lines, we sometimes took an extra touch. We need to turn quickly and find the attackers. That’s how the goal came.” The victory marks Spain’s first quarterfinal appearance at a World Cup since 2010 – the year they won their only title. On July 10 at 10 p.m. in Inglewood, California, La Roja will face Belgium for a spot in the semifinals.