Everybody knew this Round of 16 game in Dallas was probably the last dance. Ronaldo is 41, Portugal needed a hero, and for a while Diogo Costa was that guy between the posts, standing on his head to keep Spain off the board.
Diogo Costa strung together back-to-back saves to keep the match scoreless.
For a stretch it looked like Costa alone might drag Portugal into extra time. Spain kept probing, kept getting denied, and the clock kept ticking toward the moment everyone in a Ronaldo jersey was dreading.
Then, deep into stoppage time, it happened. Spain broke through in the 91st minute, with Fabian Ruiz at the center of the celebration as the goal net rippled and the Portugal bench went silent.
Spain's stoppage-time goal, with Fabian Ruiz mobbed in celebration, went off with Portugal seconds from survival.
That was it. No response left in the tank, no more magic from Costa's goal line. Barstool's account cut straight to tribute mode, running footage of Ronaldo trudging off the Dallas pitch in his number 7 alone, head down, done.
Ronaldo walking off the field after what's being called his final World Cup match.
Say what you want about the guy's ego, his stepovers, his SIUUU — this was still a legend closing out the tournament that made him. Barstool's crew wasted no time turning it into a proper send-off, memes and all, for the guy who's been showing up at World Cups since 2006.
The parting shot: a tribute post thanking CR7 for the memories.
