IT’S A KNOCKOUT
Spain & Portugal advance to knockout round of World Cup
SARANSK, RUSSIA — Cristiano Ronaldo’s missed penalty cost Portugal first place in its World Cup 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 1-1 draw with Iran on Monday. 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 34-year-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.
Spain advances with draw
A video replay in injury time gave Spain the goal it needed to win Group B at the World Cup. Spain substitute Iago Aspas scored the late equalizer in a 2-2 draw with Morocco in Kaliningrad. 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. The decision set off a touchline melee among players from both sides. 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.
Uruguay blanks Russia
Luis Suarez finally got rattled at this year’s World Cup. Sitting at the podium in the post-match news conference following Uruguay’s 3-0 victory over Russia in Samara, a reporter asked him why he often wore a sad expression. Suarez tossed aside his translation headphones, then smiled broadly in defiance and finally said: “What a waste of time. Next question please.”
Other than that little blip, Suarez has been on his best behavior in Russia, scoring twice as Uruguay swept through the group stage with three straight victories — sending the two-time champions to the knockout round for the third straight World Cup.
Edinson Cavani also scored Monday against the host nation, which dropped its first match of the tournament. 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 Portugal. 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. But Uruguay — ranked No. 14 in the world — posed a far greater challenge to the hosts.
Controversial Salah scores for Egypt
Mohamed Salah put aside his highly publicized troubles to score another World Cup goal. the Egypt forward, who has been at the center of a controversy involving his “honorary citizenship” from Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, got one goal Monday in his team’s 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in Volgograd.
Salah also scored in Egypt’s 3-1 loss to Russia in his first game back after injuring his left shoulder while playing for Liverpool in the Champions League final.
But the team was still eliminated from the World Cup after three straight losses in Group A.
Besides the goal, Salah occasionally showcased his dizzying dribbling skills and contested for every ball. But there was nothing he could do about the result.