Spain leave it late to win group
● VAR drama as Aspas earns a draw against Morocco ● Ronaldo misses penalty as Portugal settle for second
Spain will face hosts Russia in the last 16 of the World Cup after finishing top of Group B following a dramatic 2-2 draw with already-eliminated Morocco in Kaliningrad.
On a dramatic night, VAR played a decisive role in both Spain’s game and Portugal’s 1-1 draw with Iran in Saransk where Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty.
Spain, 2-1 down thanks to Morocco substitute Youssef En-nesyri’s 81st minute header, were set to finish second and therefore take on Uruguay in the next round.
Their substitute Iago Aspas then flicked the ball into the net in the dying seconds and saw that the flag was up for offside – but the goal was subsequently given following a VAR review.
Spain had gone 1-0 down in the 14th minute when Khalid Boutaib punished a mix-up between Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos, before drawing level five minutes later through Isco’s strike.
While Fernando Hierro’s side – who survived a scare ten minutes after the break as Nordin Amrabat’s strike hit the woodwork – snatched a point, Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by Iran thanks to a late goal by their opponents. It left Spain and Portugal level on five points in first and second place, with goals scored putting the former ahead. Portugal will now face Group A winners Uruguay in the last 16 in Moscow on Sunday.
Spain manager Fernando Hierro, who only took over on the eve of the tournament after Julen Lopetegui was sacked for agreeing to take over at Real Madrid, said: “We knew this would be a tough match, we knew Morocco were going to fight. We can improve.
“I’m not pleased or displeased we play Russia next. We’re pleased to be through. We tried not to think about the other match [Portugal v Iran]. We have to be very demanding of ourselves, it will be very difficult to reach the ultimate goal.” While Spain controlled the game against Morocco with 68 per cent of possession, Isco believes they can do better. “Maybe what we’re missing to better control the game is more ball possession,” said the Spanish midfielder who was man of the match. “Maybe that’s what’s missing. And that’s normally something that we do much better.
“Maybe we weren’t focused from the very beginning. We needed them to score on us to force us to react.”
Portugal, who led through Ricardo Quaresma’s stunning goal, were dramatically pegged back in stoppage time by a controversial spot-kick – awarded after a VAR review – and they would have gone out of the tournament had Mehdi Taremi not missed a golden chance at the end.
ISCO “Maybe we weren’t focused from the very beginning. We needed them to score on us to force us to react”
Four years ago, beneath the outstretched arms of the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, we pondered whether Lionel Messi could seal his legend.
In the failure, perceived to be his alone, to lead Argentina to World Cup final victory over Germany, fate conspired to ensure he could not. Not that time at least.
Of course, it seems ridiculous when taking into account his 552 goals for Barcelona, as well as his 64 so far for Argentina, that questions are still being asked abut Messi. But another slow-burning World Cup finals, where he has missed a penalty kick against Iceland and been crowded out completely by Croatia, has meant we are again discussing his sometimes rocky relationship with his home country.
Many Argentina fans are urging Messi to take a game, in the old Scottish parlance. But then this is a familiar narrative, as recalling what was being written and said in 2014 shows.
The difference now is that Argentina stand on the cusp of being eliminated at the firstround stage. Unless they win this evening against Nigeria in St Petersburg, they will be taking their leave of a World Cup at the first-round group stage for the first time since 2002. Even if they win, they could be on the plane home depending on the result between Croatia and Iceland.
These are the days of the phethey nomenon known as the White Nights in St Petersburg, when it remains daylight even long after midnight. It is now or never for Argentina if they wish to cash in on Messi’s skills on the greatest stage. need their white knight, the one who got them to this World Cup in the first place with a blistering performance at high altitude against Ecuador in their final, mustwin qualifier.
Messi scored a hat trick that night, so claims that he is under-motivated when playing in the light blue and white stripes of Argentina are far off the mark. Another criticism is that he is playing only for himself. There was likely to have been some vanity at play when he overturned his decision to retire after Argentina were beaten in the Copa America final against Chile two years ago.
He clearly eyed Russia 2018 as a chance to win the greatest prize of all and, perhaps, finally wrest the mantle of his country’s greatest player from Diego Maradona. He might already deserve to take this title from Maradona. However, not having carried his nation to a World Cup triumph, to date at least, will always count against him when the comparison is made with such an enduring legend.
It is not as if time remains on his side either. He has just turned 31. According to training ground witnesses at the squad’s base in Bronnitsy, manager Jorge Sampaoli greeted Messi with a kiss on both cheeks when he emerged for training on Sunday, the day of his birthday.
It was a much-scrutinised gesture of seeming warmth amid signs Argentina are on the verge of implosion. Some, while referencing the second half of last week’s 3-0 defeat by Croatia, would contend this has already happened. There are reports of an in-camp punch-up between Javier Mascherano and team-mate Christian Pavon. Goalkeeper Willy Caballero, who made such a disastrous mistake for the first goal against Croatia, is likely to be dropped for debutant Franco Armani tonight. Sampaoli remains in charge for now – with some reports claiming he had been ousted by player power ahead of the final, crucial group game.
Meanwhile, What’sapp audio notes from Diego Simeone, the Atletico Madrid manager and a man many Argentinians would dearly love to be their national team manager, have somehow been made public. He was immensely critical of Messi, whom he suggested was not the player Portugal’s Ronaldo is when playing for his country. Of course, Messi’s old adversary has lit up this World Cup, to further put the pressure on.
But then it seems it has always been thus: Messi battling to lift a mediocre Argentina to a level they last reached while under the spell of Maradona.
It is not only the thought of Messi underperforming once again that keeps Argentina in chilling suspense. Rather, it is what happens next, once he retires from international football – as seems likely after this World Cup, whatever happens.
In the book Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup, published last year, Maradona asks in the final chapter, indeed in the final paragraph: “If we want Argentine soccer to get better, if we want another world championship, if we don’t want to let another 30 years go by before bringing the World Cup home again: what comes after Messi?”
It is a question that could become pertinent again as soon as this evening. For the sake of this World Cup, as well as Messi’s reputation in the eyes of his compatriots, let’s hope it doesn’t.