Portugal 3, Spain 3
Group B, Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi
It’s going to be tough to top the excitement of Friday’s draw between the Iberian Peninsula rivals and Group B heavyweights, at least during the group stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s free kick in the 88th minute swerved around a wall of Spanish defenders and dipped under the crossbar to complete his hat trick and give Portugal a well-earned point in a game that seemed destined to be a loss.
Ronaldo and Spain’s Diego Costa scored two goals apiece in the first 55 minutes, with Ronaldo’s penalty kick in the fourth minute making him the fourth player in World Cup history to score in four different tournaments.
Nacho gave Spain a 3-2 lead in the 58th minute with a shot that rattled both posts before crossing the goal line. It was the goal of the tournament, for the next 30 minutes anyway. Ronaldo’s free kick, which froze Spain goalkeeper David de Gea and had Portugal fans in the crowd bowing in the star forward’s direction, gave him his 51st career hat trick. It was also the 51st hat trick in World Cup history.
Portugal improved to 18-0-2 when Ronaldo scores at least two goals, while Spain failed to win for the first time in 15 World Cup matches when scoring at least three goals. Friday’s match was the 16th in World Cup history in which both teams scored at least three goals, and the first since Senegal and Uruguay played to a 3-3 tie during the group stage in 2002. Friday’s draw leaves Iran, which defeated Morocco on a late own goal, atop the Group B standings after the first round of games.
The World Cup is here. Want smart analysis, opinions, viewing guides and more? . Every match day through the final July 15.
What’s next
Portugal: vs. Morocco in Moscow, June 20.
Spain: vs. Iran in Kazan, June 20.
***
In-game updates
A game-saving block
In the second minute of stoppage time and with the game tied 3-3, Spain’s Koke made a sliding block of a shot by Ricardo Quaresma to keep it from getting to the net. The longtime rivals finished with a 3-3 tie, leaving Iran alone atop Group B.
Goal!
Wow. Cristiano Ronaldo’s bending, dipping shot off a free kick gave him a hat trick and evened the score at 3-3 in the 88th minute. Words can’t do this seemingly impossible strike justice, so just watch:
Portugal substitution: Silva replaces Guedes
Portugal is out of substitutions after Andre Silva came on for Goncalo Guedes in the 80th minute.
Spain substitution: Aspas for Costa
There will be no hat trick for Spain’s Diego Costa. Each team has one substitution remaining after Iago Aspas replaced Costa in the 77th minute.
Something’s got to give
Portugal has never lost when Cristiano Ronaldo scores at least two goals, but that streak is in jeopardy with 15 minutes remaining. Portugal, which trails 3-2 after leading 2-1 at halftime, has yet to mount a serious attack in the second half.
A wave of substitutions
In the 68th minute and 69th minutes, Joao Mario replaced Bruno Fernandes and Ricardo Quaresma replaced Bernardo Silva for Portugal. Spain’s first substitution came in the 70th minute, when Thiago Alcantara replaced Andres Iniesta.
Goal!
Nacho gave Spain its first lead of the game in the 58th minute with a right-footed rocket that deflected off the left post, off the right post and in. The goal of the tournament thus far is a bit of redemption for the 28-year-old defender, who set up Portugal’s first goal by taking down Cristiano Ronaldo in the box. That’s two goals in the span of 3:21 for Spain.
Goal!
Diego Costa equaled Cristiano Ronaldo with his second goal of the game and pulled Spain level in the 54th minute. Costa scored on a perfectly executed set piece, with Nacho heading a long pass to the far post from David Silva toward the front of the net.
Quiet start to the second half
After an action-packed first half, the first eight minutes since the break have been relatively uneventful. Spain continued to dominate possession, patiently waiting for the right opportunity to strike. Portugal has the only shot of the second half, a right-footed effort by Bruno Fernandes from outside the box that bounced well wide of the goal.
Halftime update
It’s Cristiano Ronaldo 2, Spain 1 after 45-plus thrilling minutes in Sochi. Portugal’s star forward scored in the fourth and 44th minutes Friday, becoming the fourth player to score in four different World Cups. Diego Costa scored the lone goal in the first half for Spain after a beautiful individual effort to beat two defenders and goalie Rui Patricio. There’s just a little more talent on the field for this match than the Group B opener between Morocco and Iran, and it’s shown. Despite trailing, Spain has all five corner kicks and has outshot Portugal, 9-4.
Goal!
Portugal regained the lead in the 44th minute on Cristiano Ronaldo’s second goal of the match, a left-footed rocket off a pass from Goncalo Guedes that deflected off Spain goalkeeper David de Gea’s hands before rolling across the goal line. De Gea is one of the best keepers in the world, but he didn’t look it on this play.
Juuuust wide
In the 35th minute, Spain’s Andres Iniesta one-touched a nifty feed into the box just wide of the right post. Spain has a 6-3 advantage in shots thus far.
Yellow card to Bruno Fernandes
Since taking a 1-0 lead in the fourth minute, not much has gone right for Portugal. In the 28th minute, midfielder Bruno Fernandes was issued a yellow card for a hard tackle on Nacho. Spain came within inches of taking a 2-1 lead moments after Costa’s equalizer, but a missile of a shot by Isco deflected off the crossbar and the goal line.
Goal!
Diego Costa scored the equalizer for Spain in the 24th minute with an incredible individual effort. After receiving a long pass in the box, Costa went from right to left, and then back to his right to elude Portugal defenders Jose Fonte and Cedric before burying a shot in the bottom left corner of the net.
Yellow card to Sergio Busquets
The Spanish midfielder was shown a yellow card for an aggressive slide tackle in the 17th minute. Cristiano Ronaldo drilled the ensuing free kick into a wall of Spanish defenders.
Portugal mounts counterattack
After Portugal denied an attempted feed into the box by Nacho, a beautiful touch by Cristiano Ronaldo led to a counterattack by Goncalo Guedes. Sergio Ramos recovered in time for Spain to deny Guedes a shot on goal.
A decent chance for Spain
Spain is still looking for its first shot on goal after David Silva lost his footing and sent a shot over the net after a service into the box in the 10th minute. It was only 76 degrees at kickoff, but the humidity is 80 percent, and the pitch is slick as a result.
Goal!
It took less than four minutes for Cristiano Ronaldo to join Miroslav Klose, Pelé, and Uwe Seeler as the only players to score goals in four different World Cups and give Portugal a 1-0 lead. After Nacho was whistled for taking Ronaldo down in the box, the Portuguese star buried the penalty kick into the back of the net for the 82nd goal of his international career.
Starting lineups
There are no real surprises in either squad’s starting 11. When players from both sides were introduced about 15 minutes before kickoff, Fox’s announcing team of John Strong and Stu Holden reported that the biggest cheers were for Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, followed closely by Spain’s Andres Iniesta.
Pregame thoughts
Portugal and Spain clash in one of the more intriguing matches of the group stage; the winner will have the inside track to finishing atop Group B, which also includes underdogs Iran and Morocco. (Iran bested Morocco, 1-0, on a late own goal earlier in the day.) The Iberian Peninsula rivals have faced off 35 times dating back to 1934, but Friday will mark only their second meeting in the World Cup. In 2010, Spain shut out Portugal, 1-0, on a David Villa goal in the Round of 16 en route to winning the championship in South Africa.
Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, is the reigning European champions. Hours before Friday’s match, Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that the star has reached a deal with Spanish prosecutors in his tax-evasion case, agreeing to a massive fine and a prison sentence, though he is unlikely to serve any time because he’s a first offender. Spain features a number of aging and accomplished players in Sergio Ramos, Gerard Pique and Andres Iniesta, as well as a new coach. Fernando Hierro, a former player for the Spanish national team and Real Madrid, was named as Julen Lopetegui’s replacement after Lopetegui was fired two days before the tournament over his decision to take the head-coaching job at Real Madrid without informing the Spanish Football Federation.
“I’ve been near a ball for 30 years,” Hierro, who had been acting as Spain’s sports director, said ahead of his coaching debut.
Team profiles
Portugal
- Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2014.
- Best finish: Third place, 1966.
- Notable: The reigning European champions are looking to move past a disappointing 1-1-1 showing at the 2014 World Cup that ended in the group stage.
- FIFA world ranking: 4. ELO world ranking: 6.
Spain
- Last World Cup showing: Group stage, 2014.
- Best finish: Champion, 2010.
- Notable: La Furia Roja opened the 2014 World Cup with a 5-1 loss to the Netherlands and never recovered, failing to make it out of the group stage. They were playing extremely well under Lopetegui; how will they respond to Hierro?
- FIFA world ranking: 10. ELO world ranking: 3.
Read more about the World Cup: