Ronaldo misses penalty as Protugal draws

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 in Saransk, Russia. 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.

SPAIN 2, MOROCCO 2

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 in a draw with Morocco in Kaliningrad, Russia. 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.

SAUDI ARABIA 2, EGYPT 1

The oldest person to play in a World Cup match let in a pair of goals Monday despite some spectacular saves.

Egypt goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, who is 45, took the field for his team’s final group match to set the record. Although he saved one penalty, he couldn’t stop Saudi Arabia from beating Egypt in a game between two teams that had already been eliminated in Volgograd, Russia.

URUGUAY 3, RUSSIA 0

Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani scored a goal each and Uruguay went on to defeat Russia in Samara, Russia, 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.