Spain and Portugal advance in wild conclusion to Group B play
Plus lineups and all the highlights from the matches.
Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images
Spain and Portugal will advance.
I need a beer after the end of those games.
Iran tied it up late, and had a chance to advance out of the group when they nearly put in a second goal against Portugal with just minutes remaining.
But Portugal hung on, Spain got a late goal to equalize with Morocco, and the top two favorites entering the group play will advance. (Strange huh? If I told you three weeks ago that Spain and Portugal would advance out of the group, you’d shrug and say “Of course.” But that doesn’t tell the story of all that happened here.
See all the highlights below.
Group B Standings:
Group B
Team | Points | Goal diff. | Goals for | Goals against |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | 5 | 1 | 6 | 5 |
| Portugal | 5 | 1 | 5 | 4 |
| Iran | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| Morocco | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 |
Highlights
3:54 p.m. SO MUCH HAPPENING. GOAL SPAIN. GOAL IRAN. BOTH AIDED BY VAR.
Iran scores on a penalty after VAR rules on a Portugal handball.
Aspas has a goal disallowed for Spain for offside, then VAR reverses it.
3:40 p.m. ET: GOAL MOROCCO. OK!
Spain and Portugal will still advance. If scores hold, Portugal will finish first.
3:18 p.m. — Whoa Amrabat came close!
3:12 p.m. ET: CRISTIANO RONALDO PENALTY SAVED.
Cristiano Ronaldo was given a penalty via video replay, but his drive low and right is saved by Iran keeper Beiranvand! Iran still alive!
HALFTIME: Spain 1 - Morocco 1, Portugal 1 - Iran 0
At the break, it’s Portugal and Spain going through. Though Iran is still technically alive, if they start scoring.
2:45 p.m. ET: Quaresma with the outside of the right foot! Portugal leads Iran 1-0.
Iran in trouble now.
2:21 p.m. ET: And Spain have equalized through Isco, 1-1!
Well, that drama was short lived. Spain equalize, and now both games are tied. All things holding as they were. Right now, if scores hold, Spain and Portugal will advance.
2:15 p.m. ET: MOROCCO HAVE SCORED. BOUTAIB TUCKS IT!
That makes things a bit testy for Spain. They’re still going through if these results hold, thanks to the goals scored tiebreaker they hold over Iran.
Lineups:
Preview
While the first slate of matches in the final round of Group Play wasn’t all that interesting this morning — Uruguay and Russia had already locked up the top two spots in Group A — the Group B matches this afternoon have quite a bit at stake.
Three teams — Spain, Portugal and Iran — all are still alive, with only Morocco eliminated at this point. But that Morocco team has been one of the most entertaining and solid squads of the tournament so far, and will be looking to make a statement against Spain.
Will Spain take care of business? Will Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal take care of Iran? Or do we have surprises in store? Follow along here to keep track of live advancement scenarios, plus see all the highlights and more.
PRE-MATCH ADVANCEMENT SCENARIOS
Spain control their destiny, more or less, and will advance if:
- Spain beat or tie Morocco
OR
- Spain lose to Morocco
- Portugal beat Iran
OR
- Spain lose to Morocco by less than two goals
- Portugal tie Iran
Basically, even if Spain loses, they have a chance to advance, though things get very complicated if they do. They need to take care of business and beat or tie Morocco to ensure that they advance to the knockout round.
- Portugal beat or tie Iran
OR
- Portugal lose to Iran
- Spain lose to Morocco
- Portugal beat Spain on goal differential
- If they’re tied on goal differential, then it would go to tiebreakers.
Basically, even if Portugal lose, they have a chance to advance, though it would require them losing to Iran by less than Spain lose to Morocco.
They need to take care of business and beat or tie Iran to ensure that they advance to the knockout round.
Iran can advance as well, if:
- Iran beat Portugal
OR
- Iran tie Portugal
- Spain lose to Morocco by 2+ goals
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