Costa scores again, Spain beats Iran 1-0
KAZAN, RUSSIA — Patience is a virtue, and Spain showed plenty of it to overcome a tough challenge from Iran at the World Cup.
During a frustrating evening at the Kazan Arena when the 2010 champions struggled to break through the stubborn Iranian defense, Diego Costa scored on a deflection for a 1-0 win on Wednesday.
Costa scored 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 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 following their 3-3 draw and 1-0 victories. Iran has three points, but Morocco has been eliminated.
Costa, who scored twice against Portugal, has three goals at this year's World Cup, trailing Cristiano Ronaldo by one. He also has nine goals in his last nine starts for Spain.
Uruguay 1, Saudi Arabia 0
ROSTOV-ON-DON, RUSSIA — With a single goal, Luis Suarez settled the fate of four teams in the group stage of the World Cup.
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 in that century of matches.
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.
Neymar returns to practice
Brazil is making sure everyone knows Neymar is perfectly fit at the World Cup.
A day after he limped out of training and raised further doubts about his physical condition in Russia, the Brazilian soccer federation was quick to tell the world the team's biggest star was just fine.
Brazil had a closed practice session Wednesday, two days before its game against Costa Rica in St. Petersburg, but the federation posted photos and a video of Neymar in action in training with the rest of the squad.
FIFA fines Mexican, Serbian federations
FIFA has fined the Mexican and Serbian soccer federations 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,400) each for offensive behavior by fans at World Cup games.
FIFA says the Mexico case involved "discriminatory and insulting chants" during the team's 1-0 win over Germany on Sunday.
Mexican fans chanted an anti-gay slur when Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer prepared to kick the ball clear. The chant is popular among Latin American fans and has led to FIFA fining several federations at World Cup qualifying games.
The Serbia case involved an "offensive and political" World War II-era banner at the team's 1-0 win over Costa Rica. Serbia has had problems with far-right nationalist fans in the past.