Ok, that was fun.
It doesn’t get much better than simultaneous drama involving world powers, dangerously close to being ousted from the World Cup by plucky underdogs.
That’s what happened on Monday at the World Cup.
Inches away for Iran
The task was simple for Iran on Monday.
Beat Portugal, and they would advance past the group stage at the World Cup for the first time ever.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, but boy did Iran come close to winning it.
Ricardo Quaresma gave Portugal a 1-0 lead, after a gorgeous strike with the outside of his foot from outside the box.
S P E C T A C U L A R!!!!!!š²š²š²š²š²
Quaresma scores with outside of his foot, from outside the box to give #POR a 1-0 lead! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/buB8nSIT1l
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Cristiano Ronaldo had a chance to put the match out of reach early in the second half, when VAR awarded Portugal a penalty.
SAVE ON RONALDOā
CR7 hits the keeper & fails to extend #POR lead #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/XVilyaEiKk
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Ali Beiranvand answered Iranian prayers, stopping Ronaldo to keep his team in the match.
VAR, and Ronaldo, nearly reared its ugly head later on. A video review was required for a potential red card, after Ronaldo struck his opponent in the head with his arm. After some nervous moments, the decision was made to just give Ronaldo a yellow.
Should Ronaldo have received a red card here or did the ref make the right call? š¤ #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/YSGDQvJJBB
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Sick of VAR yet? Yet another controversial decision was made to give Iran a penalty in stoppage time, with Karim Ansarifard converting.
GOOOOOOOOAL!!!!!!!!#IRN scores to tie the game at 1-1 against #POR #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/yhCTuOuOdt
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Time was running out for Iran’s miracle finish, but not beforeĀ Mehdi Taremi had a glorious chance to send his country to the knockout round. He hit the side of the net.
#IRN was so, so, so close to completing a HISTORIC upset versus #POR #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/3amf8cu68A
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Heartbreaking, to say the least.
Heartbreak. #IRN pic.twitter.com/T2s9wSCvaj
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 25, 2018
Morocco nearly plays spoiler against Spain
Morocco was already eliminated from the knockout stage, but you wouldn’t know it by watching them play Spain. We were minutes away from witnessing a stunning upset, in an entertaining match the ended in a 2-2 draw.
A loss to Morocco could have eliminated Spain, so there were plenty of nervous moments when the Moroccans took not one, but two leads in this match.
Here are the goals that led to a 2-1 score late in the match:
#ESP STUNNED!! š±š±
A blunder leads to Khalid BoutaĆÆb going in all alone and scoring to make it 1-0 #MAR.#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/9sBoEgRPUC
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
ALL EVEN!!
Iniesta sets up Isco BEAUTIFULLY and he makes no mistake to tie the game.#ESP #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/4dMz72ccDr
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
#MAR BACK ON TOP!!
Youssef En-Nesyri heads it home off of the corner kick and Morocco is closing in on its first win of the #WorldCup. pic.twitter.com/rc6BGxOt3p
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Spain needed a goal in stoppage time, with the help of VAR, to earn the draw. This gorgeous back heel by Iago Aspas was initially called offside. Video review overturned the call, giving Spain goal and levelling the match.
BEAUTIFUL BACK HEEL!!
Iago Aspas' wonderful goal counts after VAR rules he was NOT offside. We're even again! #ESP#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/k1zL0x7gzE
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Uruguay wins Group A
Up against the hosts from Russia, Uruguay delivered an emphatic 3-0 win to win Group A.
Luis Suarez opened the scoring in the 10th minute with a free kick goal, while a lucky bounce off a Russian defender made it 2-0 in the 23rd minute. From there, it was cruise control for the South Americans, who added a third goal in second half stoppage time.
#URU SCORES!!!!
Suarez opens the scoring with a BRILLIANT free-kick, giving Uruguay a 1-0 lead over #RUS #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/JSIdyaHqTy
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Goal!!!#URU doubles their lead on a deflection! Up 2-0 on #RUS in 1st half #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/LuoIb7ukYo
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
#URU SCORES!
Cavani puts the game away for Uruguay, giving them a 3-0 lead over #RUS #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/iLiLthQZgy
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Saudi Arabia, Egypt play for pride
There was nothing left to play for, except pride, in the final match of the tournament for Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
Mo Salah, Egypt’s star striker, scored first:
Salah scores AGAIN!
His second goal of the #WorldCup is an EXCELLENT one and it gives #EGY a 1-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/m7Y2GoFflE
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
Everything seemed to be going right for Egypt after Essam El-Hadary, their 45-year-old goalkeeper, stopped a penalty in the 41st minute.
Essam El-Hadary has his #WorldCup moment!
The oldest player to ever play in a World Cup game makes a spectacular save on a #KSA penalty to keep #EGY up 1-0. pic.twitter.com/p13FA2ONKf
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
But Saudi Arabia didn’t give up. They earned another penalty before half time and this time Salman Al-Faraj made no mistake.
#KSA score its first goal of the #WorldCup!
Salman Al-Faraj steps up from the spot this time and evens the score!#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Syah41mWpT
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
The match remained even until the fifth minute of injury time in the second half, when Salem Al-Dawsari finished off a gorgeous passing play to give his country a meaningful win.
#KSA WINS IT IN STOPPAGE TIME!
Saudi Arabia gets its first #WorldCup win since 1994 with a goal in stoppage time from Salem Al-Dawsari. pic.twitter.com/uuh7JpmOzk
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 25, 2018
We now know the first two matches of the knockout round, as Group A winner Uruguay will play Portugal. Spain, who won Group B, will face Russia.
Tuesday’s games
There’s lots to play for on Tuesday, as Australia, Denmark, Nigeria, Iceland, and Argentina try to qualify for the knockout round, while France and Croatia look to secure top spot in their respective groups.
- Australia vs Peru (7 am PT /10 am ET)
- Denmark vs France (7 am PT /10 am ET)
- Nigeria vs Argentina (11 am PT /2 pm ET)
- Iceland vs Croatia (11 am PT /2 pm ET)