It was quite a day for group B and its opening matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Morocco and Iran were in a match that
Morocco
First Half
It was a fairly even first half as both teams had a shot at controlling the game. The action started with an early missed opportunity by Hakim Ziyech during the opening minutes.
During the first stages of the first half Morocco was able to control possession of the ball, dictating the offense. Iran then gained ground by settling on defense, thus allowing them to take advantage of a Moroccan national squad that was positioned was too up field. Aided by dangerous counter attacks and the fast pace of game, Iran felt like the better at the end of the half despite the 0-0 score.
Second Half
The second half could not have been more different from the first one. For starters, the pace of the game slowed down considerably. This was logical given the speed of the firs half, however, the game also became extremely physical. The game lost most of its fluidity as the constant fouls stopped the game quite often. While the game seemed like a 0-0 draw until the end of regulation time, stoppage time had another story to tell.
At the 95th minute, Moroccan forward Aziz Bouhaddouz scored what was–ironically, a very nice own goal giving a 1-0 victory to Iran. Today’s was Iran’s second victory ever in a World Cup.
Portugal
First Half
The first half opened with a stunner, a controversial foul on Cristiano Ronaldo. Ronaldo proceeded to score on the penalty, just like that, Spain was down 1-0 after just three minutes into the match. Spain looked out of sync and punch-less for the following minutes, getting stuck in the final third of the pitch ad allowing Portugal to counter attack quickly.
Minutes later, Diego Costa scored in an equally controversial goal. An elbow to the face prior to the goal was overlooked by the referee. The game was now tied 1-1
Near the end of the half Ronaldo scored once again, partially thanks to an error by David De Gea.
Second Half
Once again, Spain started the half looking stunned. Gradually they gained possession of the ball. Thus, forcing Portugal to stay back and look for counter attack opportunities. Costa scored at the 54th minute to once again level the score. 2-2
Just a couple of minutes after Costa’s goal, Nacho gave Spain the lead. 3-2
However, La Roja was not able to finish the job, they gave Ronaldo a free kick and he just did what CR7 usually does. 3-3
The Portuguese XI managed to spoil Fernando Hierro’s debut at front of the Spanish national team.
After today, Iran sits on top of the group with three points after defeating Morocco.
All four teams play next Wednesday, with Portugal taking on Morocco and Iran taking on Spain.