Suarez sends Uruguay to round of 16
With a single goal, Luis Suarez settled the fate of four teams in the group stage of the World Cup in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.
The controversial striker, who was making his 100th appearance in his national team’s light blue, scored Wednesday to give Uruguay a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia and a spot in the round of 16.
The result, though, had a domino effect in Group A. It also put host Russia into the next round while eliminating both Saudi Arabia and Egypt at the same time.
Suarez, who was kicked out of the last World Cup for biting an opponent during a match, knocked in a corner kick from Carlos Sanchez in the 23rd minute for his 52nd goal for his country.
“We are more than proud because we’ve reached the knockout stage at three successive World Cups. It’s a beautiful moment and we want to enjoy it,” Suarez said. “We still haven’t hit our stride so we need to tweak some things.”
Uruguay and Russia both have six points from their opening two matches, putting them into the round of 16 with a match to go. They will face each other on Monday in Samara with first place in Group A on the line. SPAIN 1, IRAN 0 >> Patience is a virtue, and Spain showed plenty of it to overcome a tough challenge from Iran in Kazan, Russia.
During a frustrating evening when the 2010 champions struggled to break through the stubborn Iranian defense, Diego Costa scored on a deflection in the 54th minute after being set up by Andres Iniesta. The powerful striker turned in the area and took a shot that deflected off Iran’s Ramin Rezeian before bouncing back onto Costa’s knee and into the net.
It was far from a beautiful win, but the goal was enough to make Spain coach Fernando Hierro smile.
“We have four points,” Hierro said. “We were happier after the match against Portugal, but we only had one point.”
Spain and Portugal lead Group B with four points each.
IRANIAN WOMEN WATCH WITH MEN >> Female soccer fans in Iran were taken through a roller coaster of emotions — and all before their team stepped onto the field to play Spain.
For 38 years, women have been banned from watching men’s sporting events in Iran. But on Tuesday, local news agencies in Iran reported that women would be allowed to watch a live broadcast of Iran’s World Cup match against Spain, taking place in Russia the next day, at Tehran’s Azadi Stadium. Just hours before the doors were set to open, authorities canceled the event.
Many fans turned up at the stadium anyway. On Twitter, photos and videos were posted of Iranians sitting, standing and playing vuvuzelas in protest. Finally, after about an hour, the police gave way. The stadium gates were opened and men, women and children who had bought tickets filed in. MEXICO FINED >> FIFA fined the Mexican soccer federation $10,400 for offensive behavior by fans. FIFA said Mexico’s case involved “discriminatory and insulting chants” during the team’s win over Germany.