Martin Caceres shackled Son, harassing the South Korean winger any time he got the ball and sticking close to him to discourage others from passing his way.
But their inability to close out the game proved costly, allowing Belgium to claw their way back into contention with two goals in five minutes before Nacer Chadli's injury-time winner capped the most thrilling game of the 2018 finals.
In his fifth World Cup, Ronaldo will arrive captaining a team of standout players who are widely seen as among the world's best but who have arguably underachieved on the biggest stage.
Spain were Nations League runners-up two years ago to France and success will come as a major fillip after a disappointing World Cup in Qatar, where they were upset by Morocco in the last-16.
Blind, 32, has an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) in his chest to detect an irregular heart beat and deliver a life-saving shock in the event of sudden cardiac arrest.
Images from the FIFA World Cup Quarter-final match between Croatia and Brazil on Friday.
"We wanted to commemorate the great player he was, he's a legend of Senegalese football, he made me dream and he made all of us dream so we could not mess it up on the anniversary of his death."
'It's all about football tomorrow and this is what is going to matter. We are ready and mature enough to just play football. We want to make our nation proud and happy, and we will ignore the rest.'
Although they won their first round group, there was little evidence to back up their self-confidence as they stuttered through
'We wanted to compensate for the defeat (against Saudi Arabia). Today it was a great game, we played very well collectively'
Ecuador, who needed a draw to qualify for the last 16 for the second time after 2006, end up third on four points after a game played to the relentless beat of the Senegal fans' drums.
Germany's Toni Kroos emerged as the world champions' natural leader on Saturday, stepping up to guide them to a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Sweden kept them on course for the World Cup last 16.
'I have much more freedom here (than at PSG). The coach knows that there is a number nine like Olivier who occupies the defences. I can wander around, go into space, ask for balls.'
'A lot has been said. We talked for an hour about good things and less good things. Now we want to win against Croatia. We now have two days to prepare. We have to be ready.'
Rashford, who played in the Euro 2020 final, was out of the England picture for 15 months as injuries and a loss of form and confidence saw his career plateau.
The rankings were the first to be issued since France beat Croatia 4-2 in the World Cup final on July 15 and also the first since FIFA replaced its much-criticised previous formula.
Saudi Arabia are looking towards the Asian Cup with hope after they showed signs of progress in their 1-0 defeat to Uruguay as they exited the World Cup on Wednesday.
Australia hope to unlock Steve Smith's potential in Twenty20 cricket ahead of this year's World Cup
"If I wasn't in Holland, I don't think I would have had that background that really helped shape my ideas."
Yokohama beat Shandong to book Asian Champions League last 16 berth
Asked if the result could have been different if Ronaldo had played from the beginning of the game, Portuguese fan Filipa Ramires said "it wouldn't have mattered".
Former Scotland midfielder Graeme Souness said FIFA needed to be more transparent over VAR decisions.
Algeria reached the World Cup last 16 for the first time after fighting back for a 1-1 draw against Russia to clinch second place in Group H.
For one night, the otherwise tight-knit community will be split down the middle -- largely divided by choice of watering hole.
The French fans will be largely outnumbered by the Morocco supporters
'The boss (coach Graham Arnold) said it perfectly after the game: we enjoy, we celebrate with the fans, with friends and family in the stands, but the result will mean nothing if we don't get a result against Denmark.'
England hold no fear for World Cup last 16 opponents Colombia, said the South American side's coach Jose Pekerman.
Diego Maradona's Argentina lit up the World Cup with its first hat-trick on Thursday while fellow Latin Americans Mexico humiliated European heavyweights France in a comfortable 2-0 win.
Valencia double gives Ecuador 2-0 halftime lead against hosts Qatar
Chelsea confirmed on its website that they had parted company with the German coach
Uruguay have one of the best recent records of all 32 World Cup sides, having won all six of their games this year, conceding precisely zero goals.
FIFA TV, which provides live World Cup images for the global television audience, displayed the wrong graphic which indicated Brazil's third goal in their 4-1 win over Cameroon was offside, it said on Tuesday.
Manchester City squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Germany return home on Wednesday following their Euro 2020 last 16 exit to England, with departing coach Joachim Loew at the heart of fierce criticism after yet another early tournament elimination.
India's No 1 woman archer Deepika Kumari is busy working on the mental side of her game in an effort to break her medal jinx in the sport at the highest level.
Brazil are going home empty handed after they suffered yet another heartbreaking World Cup exit to a European rival -- and the quarter-final defeat by Croatia will hurt as they let victory slip through their fingers just three minutes from the final whistle.
A double from Vinicius laid the foundation for a thumping Champions League win.
Images from the FIFA World Cup match between Croatia and Japan on Monday.
Croatia's euphoric media ran out of superlatives as they hailed the Balkan nation's stunning World Cup win over Argentina which propelled them into the competition's knockout stages for the first time since the 1998 tournament when they finished third.
