Video review helps out Spain
KALININGRAD, Russia It took a video review of an injury-time equalizer to give Spain first place in its World Cup group.
Spain substitute Iago Aspas scored the late goal Monday in a 2-2 draw with Morocco. His clever deflection off a cross from Dani Carvajal was initially disallowed for offside, but the video assistant referee overruled the call at Kaliningrad Stadium.
“Until the last minute, we weren’t sure who was going to finish first and second,” Spain coach Fernando Hierro said. “And I have to say we were lucky to finish first.”
The decision set off a touchline melee among players from both sides.
Hierro took over as Spain coach on the eve of the World Cup when Julen Lopetegui was fired after taking the job at Real Madrid. Now he is heading to the World Cup’s knockout stage.
“Obviously we can improve,” Hierro said. “Five goals in three matches, that is not the way forward. That is what I have told my players, and they understand that.”
A rare mix-up by Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos gifted Morocco its first goal of the World Cup, with Khalid Boutaib pouncing on the loose ball and scoring in the 14th minute. Iniesta made amends five minutes later by setting up Isco at the other end with a clever cut back pass to bring Spain level at halftime.
Youssef En Nesyri then headed in a goal in the 81st minute to give already-eliminated Morocco hope of a victory.
With Portugal also drawing with Iran, Spain progressed as group winner because it scored more goals. Next up, Spain plays host Russia on Sunday in Moscow, while Portugal plays Uruguay in Sochi a day earlier.
“We haven’t really won anything yet. It’s been a very tough match,” Isco said. “Maybe we weren’t focused from the very beginning. We needed them to score on us to force us to react.”
Spain may be through and is now on a 23-match unbeaten run, but it was far from convincing in group play and again displayed defensive frailties to concede twice against a Morocco team that hadn’t scored a goal in its two previous group matches.
Morocco was playing for pride in Kaliningrad and they can leave the tournament having made a point against Spain’s selection of stars.
“We would have loved to win over Spain,” Morocco coach Herve Renard said. “This is why we came here tonight. We suffered, just like any other team who takes on Spain. When you look at the lineup, it’s a mix of Real Madrid and Barca, so these are outstanding players.”
In the round of 16, Spain faces a Russian team that proved in its first two matches that it can slice through weak defences. Russia scored eight times in its first two matches before falling to a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay earlier Monday.
“We’re going to play against the host. They’ll have the audience, they’re in their home, but in the end, football is played on the pitch,” Hierro said.
PORTUGAL 1, IRAN 1
SARANSK, Russia — Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed penalty cost Portugal first place in its group.
It could have been worse if not for Ricardo Quaresma, who started for the first time in the tournament and scored his maiden World Cup goal with a shot that had about as much flare as any in the tournament.
Portugal finished second in Group B after a draw with Iran. The 2016 European champions will next face Uruguay on Saturday in the round of 16.
“The conclusion and the most important thing is we’re going to continue playing,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said. “We had a strong opponent.”
Quaresma became the only player other than Ronaldo to score for the Portuguese in three games in Russia. The 34year-old midfielder also became Portugal’s oldest scorer in World Cup play by hitting a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area that went beyond the reach of diving Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand.
Quaresma’s goal came on a night when Ronaldo — who had scored all four Portugal goals in its first two games of Group B play — was denied on a penalty by Beiranvand.
“We were on top of the game until the penalty, and we didn’t make it. It wasn’t perfect, but that’s football,” Santos said. “We did what was expected and now we have to settle down and think about Uruguay.”
Karim Ansarifard scored a late penalty for Iran, which need to win to advance but couldn’t break through a second time despite a furious charge in the waning minutes.
URUGUAY 3, RUSSIA 0
SAMARA, Russia — Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani scored a goal each and Uruguay went on to defeat Russia 3-0 on Monday, finishing undefeated in group play and handing the host nation its first loss of the World Cup.
Both teams were already assured of spots in the knockout round, but Uruguay’s victory put it at the top of Group A and looking toward a match in Sochi on Saturday against the second-place finisher from Group B.
Uruguay, which also benefited from an own-goal in the first half, had its third straight shutout of the tournament after consecutive 1-0 victories over Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
By advancing to the round of 16 with victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Russia secured its best World Cup showing in the post-Soviet era.