text: SOCHI, RUSSIA -- Three points from Portugal and Spain's remarkable 3-3 draw at Fisht Stadium in which Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sublime hat-trick. 
   
   1. Ronaldo's three goals earn Portugal a point 
   
   For a guy whose deeds are so often defined by numbers, whether it's the fact that he has more goals than games for Real Madrid or the fact that nobody has more Ballon d'Or awards stashed away in his trophy cabinet, there was one that seemed out of sync before this World Cup began: three, as in the number of goals that Cristiano Ronaldo had scored in the World Cup to date. 
   
   Yet he remedied that perceived dearth against Spain Friday, nabbing a hat-trick in a 3-3 draw to open their World Cup campaign. The first was a penalty he won himself, his nifty stopover prompting Nacho to dangle a leg over which Ronaldo gleefully fell. The second was a gift from David De Gea, who pushed his edge-of-the-box snap shot over the goal line, though again, there's something to be said for Ronaldo's alertness on the break that he was there to capitalize on Goncalo Guedes' layoff following Pepe's defensive clearance. The third was a magisterial free kick that disappeared into the top corner, leaving De Gea flat-footed. 
   
   Ronaldo joins Miroslav Klose, Uwe Seeler and Pele as the only players who have scored in four World Cups. He also becomes the oldest player to score a hat-trick in World Cup history, at 33 years and 131 days. And he equals the legendary Ferenc Puskas, the most prolific European-born international goalscorer in history and the second most-prolific overall. (Iran's Ali Daei, at 109, may not be entirely out of his reach either.) 
   
   He has broad shoulders, this one, which is a good thing, as a nation is riding on his back. 
   
   Cristiano Ronaldo has a whole host of records for Real Madrid and Portugal. ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/Getty Images) 
   
   2. Diego Costa's heroics stand out for Spain 
   
   He has, at times, looked like a foreign object in a Spain shirt. Even as Julen Lopetegui's side romped through qualification to the World Cup, Diego Costa managed just nine appearances, lasting 90 minutes on just three occasions. But against Portugal he showed just how much value there is in him being so different. 
   
   The first goal was vintage Costa: the angry forearm clear-out on Pepe, the deceptively quick legs to send Jose Fonte the wrong way, the threaded smash between two opponents. The second carried his hallmark too, as he used his physicality and hunger to get to the ball first and nudge it past Rui Patricio. The rest was selflessness, sacrifice and running battles with Pepe and Fonte, but always on the right side of VAR. 
   
   Just what Spain needed. 
   
   3. A fair result for both teams 
   
   The table shows Iran leading the group following their late 1-0 win against Morocco. But beyond the drama of a see-saw game -- one of the best group openers we've seen in a long time -- and the fact that they are two points off the top, there are positive takeaways for both teams. 
   
   Spain ultimately controlled much of the game and can chalk up two of the goals conceded to uncharacteristic individual errors. There's some tweaking to be done but the post-Lopetegui meltdown simply didn't materialize. 
   
   As for Portugal, it was always going to be a dog-fight of a group. But a point against Spain is a massive boost ahead of their next game, coming against a Morocco side already with their backs to the wall. ||||| Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup 2018: Portugal 3-3 Spain - watch all six goals in under a minute 
   
   "The night was about Cristiano. He is relentless in his pursuit of greatness. What he is doing on the world stage is ridiculous." 
   
   Match of the Day pundit Rio Ferdinand said he "couldn't breathe" as former Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, including an 88th-minute equaliser, as Portugal drew 3-3 with Spain in a classic World Cup encounter. 
   
   Ronaldo, as he so often does, had the last word in a match full of drama, as Spain came within minutes of securing a happy ending to a turbulent week in which they sacked their manager a day before the start of the tournament. 
   
   So just how good was this Ronaldo display? Well, his was the star turn in a match that is sure to be remembered for years to come. 
   
   "I'm going to get a flight back tomorrow because I won't see a better game," joked former England winger Chris Waddle. 
   
   What did Ronaldo do? 
   
   It took just over three minutes for Portugal's captain to make his mark on the game in Sochi, drawing Nacho into a foul in the area and converting the penalty with trademark cool. 
   
   Diego Costa equalised brilliantly but Ronaldo struck a second time, David de Gea's uncharacteristic fumble into the net a gift to the Real Madrid man. 
   
   Costa scored again to make it 2-2 before Nacho made amends with a sublime strike to put Spain 3-2 up. 
   
   But then came that free-kick... 
   
   A one-in-45 shot 
   
   Media playback is not supported on this device Ronaldo scores 'sensational' free-kick to complete hat-trick 
   
   Standing over the ball as De Gea set his wall and with just two minutes remaining, there was no doubt it would be Ronaldo who would take the set piece. And yet history suggested a team-mate - any team-mate - might have been better placed.. 
   
   This, remarkably, was Ronaldo's first goal from a direct free-kick in 45 attempts at major championships. 
   
   "One or two will ask why I said at half-time Ronaldo needs to work on free-kicks. Well it's because it took him 45 attempts, but he did it," said former England captain Alan Shearer. 
   
   "It's a brilliant free-kick and it is technically so difficult to do," added former England midfielder Danny Murphy. "He went over and around the wall and it had all sorts of bend and dip on it." 
   
   Speaking on Russia Today, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho offered a reminder that Ronaldo's free-kick record has worsened since his days at Old Trafford and early years at Real, but added that "this one was the critical one". 
   
   "There are players for some matches, there are players for every match and there are players for special matches. The players for special matches are the ones," the Portuguese added. 
   
   Over to you, Lionel... 
   
   Media playback is not supported on this device World Cup Catch-Up: Ronaldo the showman lights up biggest stage 
   
   Lionel Messi is another of those ones. Ronaldo's pursuit of greatness has been inextricably linked with that of the Argentina forward, who starts his campaign against Iceland on Saturday. 
   
   "A little sub-plot to it is now the pressure is mounted on Messi's shoulders after watching Cristiano here," said Ferdinand. 
   
   "He'll deliver," came the reply from Cesc Fabregas on Match of the Day. Fabregas, of course, played with Messi at Barcelona between 2011 and 2014. 
   
   Former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said Ronaldo would have "hated" the discussions before the tournament about whether this will be Messi's World Cup. 
   
   "Cristiano has raised the bar so Iceland could be in trouble," he added. 
   
   Level with Puskas - greatness in numbers 
   
   This was Ronaldo's 51st hat-trick for club and country, a "personal best" according to the man himself. 
   
   It comprised his 82nd, 83rd and 84th international goals, putting him joint-second on the all-time list alongside Hungary legend Ferenc Puskas, now trailing only Iran's Ali Daei on 109. 
   
   Will he surpass that mark? Or is it a case of when? 
   
   Ronaldo also became the first man in history to score in eight consecutive major tournaments with his early penalty against Spain. Where will that streak end? 
   
   "Cristiano is the best in the world and I hope in Qatar once again he is going to score in a World Cup," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos, feeling his side's 33-year-old talisman can extend his international career until 2022. 
   
   Despite the brilliance of his performance, Ronaldo was quick to try to make his team the focus at the full-time whistle. 
   
   "The most important thing is to highlight what the team has done," said Ronaldo. "The game was about to end and we managed to equalise so we are happy. 
   
   "We are not the favourites so we will try to do our best. The team is doing very well and we are going to do well for sure." 
   
   Portugal's next Group B game is against Morocco on Wednesday at 13:00 BST, while Spain face Iran at 19:00, no doubt happy to see the back of Ronaldo, for now at least. 
   
   "When you are playing a player like Ronaldo these things can happen," said Spain coach Fernando Hierro. 
   
   "It is extremely fortunate for whichever team has him, but I certainly would not change him for any of the players in my squad." 
   
   Where does it rank? 
   
   Ronaldo's hat-trick is likely to become one of the most memorable World Cup moments and this match one of the best in the competition's history. 
   
   "It was one of the best World Cup games I've seen - especially in a group stage. It augurs well for the rest of the World Cup," said Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker. 
   
   But where does Ronaldo's performance rank? Here are some of the best individual displays in World Cup history... 
   
   Oleg Salenko - Russia 6-1 Cameroon (USA 1994) - Salenko remains the first and only player to score five goals in a single World Cup game. It was enough for him to earn a share of the Golden Boot, even though Russia went out in the first round. 
   
   Media playback is not supported on this device Archive: Salenko bags five 
   
   Sandor Kocsis - Hungary 8-3 West Germany (Switzerland 1954) - Kocsis followed a hat-trick against South Korea with four in Hungary's group-stage demolition of West Germany. The great Hungarian side seemed destined to be world champions, only to be stunned by the Germans in the final. 
   
   Zinedine Zidane - France 3-0 Brazil (France 1998) - Zidane bossed the 1998 final, taking France to the world title on home soil. He scored twice and dismantled defending champions Brazil. 
   
   Eusebio - Portugal 5-3 North Korea (England 1966) - North Korea were heading for perhaps the biggest shock of all time when they led Portugal 3-0. Enter Eusebio, who scored four unanswered goals, including two from the spot. 
   
   Sir Geoff Hurst - England 4-2 West Germany (England 1966) - To this day still the only hat-trick in a World Cup final, one that carried England to the greatest day in their footballing history and earned Hurst a knighthood. 
   
   Media playback is not supported on this device 50 Great World Cup moments: England win the World Cup - 1966 
   
   'With the God Ronaldo, miracles are possible' - how Portuguese and Spanish media reacted 
   
   A young Portugal fan with a poster of his hero 
   
   Correio da Manha (Portugal): "It is not enough to call him king. This Ronaldo of Russia reaches the dimension of God. A giant among small creatures fearful of their gifts, powers and moods. This game with Spain puts Ronaldo on the highest altar of this global religion. Ronaldo achieved immortality." 
   
   Diario de Noticias (Portugal): Like Eusebio against North Korea in 1966, Pele against France in 1958 or Maradona against England in 1986, CR7's display against Spain in the 2018 World Cup will be for eternity." 
   
   Publico (Spain): "Spain has talent but does not have the best in the world. Without a doubt, Spain is a better team than the Portuguese team collectively and individually. But there is no Cristiano Ronaldo. And that made all the difference in this match." 
   
   El Mundo (Spain): "Spain survives Cristiano Ronaldo. When there is a huge player in front, the draw is not a bad solution." ||||| On Friday morning, meanwhile, only a few hours before the game, it emerged in Spanish news media reports that Ronaldo himself had agreed to pay the Spanish authorities $21.8 million in unpaid taxes. He has also been given a two-year suspended jail sentence, the papers said. It would be hard to believe that these developments did not faze him as the game approached. 
   
   Still, it was Ronaldo who gave Portugal the lead, winning and converting a penalty after just four minutes of play. And it was Ronaldo who restored the lead, his shot squirming under David De Gea, the Spanish goalkeeper, as the first half drew to a close. And it was Ronaldo who, with just a few minutes remaining in the second half, lined up a free kick a little outside the Spanish penalty area with Portugal now trailing, 3-2. 
   
   He had taken 44 free kicks in previous World Cups. He had scored on none of them. Still, you know what they say: the 45th time’s a charm. 
   
   It is true that Ronaldo, at 33, is not the player he was. He is still perfectly sculpted, of course, a Men’s Health magazine cover made flesh, but the electric pace has fizzled a little; he does not cover quite as much ground (only one player, the Portuguese defender José Fonte, ran less than Ronaldo in a first half in which one of them scored twice). 
   
   But it is equally true to say that Ronaldo, even in his twilight, shines brighter than almost any player with whom he comes into contact. He has not so much faded as a player as evolved into something different. It is misleading to suggest that he has transformed into a striker, a penalty- area predator, because he is not really restricted by such mortal concepts as geography. 
   
   Instead, he has attained a level of such devastating efficiency that he now does not really require something so mundane as the ball. He does not need to be involved. He looks, often, like he is doing nothing, or something quite close to it — as if he is a mere passenger. It is an illusion. He is always in the cockpit. 
   
   Isco, his Real Madrid teammate, was the dominant player on the field here, the one who was most involved, who prompted and probed and prodded, and he was wearing a Spain jersey. Ronaldo has moved beyond needing to dictate games. He concerns himself only with defining them. 
   
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   His free kick, needless to say, curled artfully, effortlessly, past De Gea and into the corner of Spain’s goal, as Ronaldo — despite all historical evidence to the contrary — must have known it would. 
   
   Portugal, which is now best thought of as a nation established in 1128 so that it might one day produce Cristiano Ronaldo, would have its draw. More important, the 2018 World Cup had its spark. The afterglow of a game like this can last for a couple of weeks, at least; on this stage, it can resonate around the world. 
   
   Spain would have been forgiven for feeling like a victim. It had been the better team in this game, had more of the ball, created more opportunities, played the slicker, smoother soccer. 
   
   It had looked every inch a contender for a World Cup title and nothing like a side still reeling from Lopetegui’s departure, shaken to its core by a dispute between its players and their ultimate bosses at the country’s federation, having to adjust to life under a new coach who, until now, had only managed one second-division team. 
   
   That Spain’s players did not let all this deter them on Friday only served to emphasize the scale of Ronaldo’s performance and the overall quality of the match. 
   
   And when the final whistle blew, the stadium stood: not just the clusters of Portuguese fans, not just the neutrals and the Russians, but the Spanish fans, too, in those blood-red jerseys. They applauded their own team, of course; there was enough encouragement there to see the bigger picture, to believe that the tumult of the last few days may not be fatal to their hopes. 
   
   But when Spain’s players had left the field, and Portugal’s stood in the center circle, the Spanish fans remained standing, and they kept clapping, as every single Portuguese player sought out Ronaldo, to clasp his hand, to ruffle his hair, as though just to touch him was to brush against something holy. 
   
   They do not mind that he attracts — demands, really — all of the attention. They do not mind being in the supporting cast, just as those Spanish fans did not mind providing the audience for the three acts of his one-man show. Sometimes, it is a pleasure simply to be there; sometimes, it is a pleasure just to sit back and watch. And at the end, sometimes there is nothing to do but applaud. 
   
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   ■ Here’s how it happened: 
   
   Full Time: Spain 3, Ronaldo 3 
   
   Ronaldo has produced one of the most remarkable individual performances you could possibly hope to see, and illuminated what will take some beating as the best game of the tournament. Portugal hasn’t been discussed much as a contender for the World Cup, despite being European champion. This may have been an oversight. 
   
   90 + 2’: Portugal Almost Pulls Away 
   
   Quaresa almost wins it! He walks the ball through the Spanish defense, into the penalty area, around two defenders. But the third arrives in the nick of time to smother his shot. What a winner that might have been. I think we all — players, coaches, fans, viewers — need a whistle, a beer and a shower at this point. 
   
   88’: GOAL! Ronaldo Equalizes 
   
   Oh woooooowwwwwwww! Ronaldo completes his hat trick with a stunning free kick, curled around the wall’s right edge. De Gea never had a chance. It’s 3-3. Message from the office in New York: “Can they just keep playing, please?” 
   
   86’: Sloppy Spain 
   
   Now it’s Spain that gives away a silly free kick, as Piqué, who had Ronaldo corralled with his back to goal, shoves him down. 
   
   84’: A Clasico Moment 
   
   A little Barcelona-Real Madrid spice as Ronaldo throws the ball to Jordi Alba, who was coming to take it for a throw-in. You can take the boys out of the Clasico, but you can’t take the Clasico out of the boys. 
   
   82’: Just When You Think Spain Is Sitting Back ... 
   
   Isco adds some rare excitement at the other end, squeezing off a low shot that Rui Patricio handles with ease. 
   
   79’: Danger in the Area 
   
   A long, bounding ball from Portugal’s end results in a collision of Ronaldo, De Gea and Piqué, who appears to take the brunt of a collision with a goalkeeper and a bronze statue in full sprint. The ball, most important if you’re Spanish, winds up cleared in the interaction, and a handball by Quaresma trying to collect it allows everyone to exhale. 
   
   That ball seemed to catch everyone but Ronaldo by surprise, and he nearly made Spain pay for their momentary confusion. 
   
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   76’: Spain Puts on the Clamps 
   
   It’s easy to get lulled into this thriller, but Spain has quietly settled into two banks of four defensively. For a team that knows how to pick a lock on offense, they also know how to clamp down when it counts. 
   
   70’: Portugal Makes Changes 
   
   Joao Mario and Ricardo Quaresma come on for Portugal, now seeking fresh legs and, most important, a goal with 20 minutes left. Spain brings on Bayern Munich’s Thiago Alcántara for Iniesta — young legs for aging ones. 
   
   64’: Spain-Portugal Delivers 
   
   This would have been a super World Cup final: tense, dramatic, goal-filled. A terrific game. Though, to be fair, awarding the trophy tonight before 24 teams kicked a ball might cause problems at the next FIFA Congress. 
   
   Photo 
   
   58’ GOAL! Nacho Gives Spain the Lead 
   
   Nacho steps into a failed clearance, puts his laces into the ball and pings both posts with a shot through traffic. A rocket and, for the moment, a potential winner. 
   
   55’: GOAL! Diego Costa Makes Portugal Pay 
   
   And that’s what happens when you give away free kicks easily. GOAL! Free kick is rolled into play, lofted to Busquets at the right post, and he nods it into the path of Costa. He’s got two now, just like Ronaldo, and we’ve got a game again. Spain: 2, Portugal: 2, All of us: happy. 
   
   Rory Smith: Diego Costa has been Spain’s great conundrum in the last few years: he offers a threat the rest of the team simply doesn’t possess, but he’s always struggled to be himself in a context that is so alien, and a style so unfamiliar. If Fernando Hierro has solved that in two days, maybe he should have got the Real Madrid job. 
   
   53’: Spain’s Strategy ... 
   
   Spain’s back to playing keepaway. Their possession can lull defenses to sleep and they know it. Enough of it, and an opponent without focus can be coaxed into bad positions, bad decisions, bad fouls out of frustration. That was one right there, and now, just like that, Spain has a dangerous free kick from 30 yards. 
   
   46’: More Entertainment on the Way? 
   
   The teams are back and here we go. Let’s hope the second half is even half as good as that first 45 was. 
   
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   Was just wondering how many goals Ronaldo would have by now if he’d been fined, say, $50 million this morning by the Spanish tax man. 
   
   Photo 
   
   Halftime: Two Ronaldo Goals Give Portugal the Lead 
   
   Cristiano Ronaldo scores early — a fourth-minute penalty — and late — on a 44th-minute blunder by Spain’s goalkeeper — and Portugal leads the Iberian Derby in Sochi, 2-1 at the break. Spain was solid except for the two times it wasn’t, and Ronaldo — an assassin of a forward who seems to get better with age — was there each time to pounce. 
   
   44’: GOAL! Ronaldo Does it Again 
   
   A howler from De Gea and Portugal leads 2-1. Ronaldo gets the ball near the top of the area, and wangles a hard low shot at De Gea. Eminently savable, he instead lets it skip off him and in. That’s a terrible mistake from an outstanding goalkeeper, and it’s cost his team badly here in the closing second of the half. 
   
   Rory Smith: This will be no solace for David De Gea — who really does not make mistakes like that — but this is the game the World Cup needed. Spain has been breathtaking at times, but there’s a resilience to Portugal, a nous, that makes them a threat. And they have this guy upfront: tall, tan, who looks to have quite the career ahead of him. 
   
   42’: Pepe’s Not Really Sorry 
   
   One of the eternal truths of world soccer is that when Pepe fouls a guy from behind and then helps him up and says “sorry,” he’s probably not. The same truism applies to Sergio Ramos and probably a dozen other players you can think of off the top of your head. 
   
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   40’: This Is the Real World Cup 
   
   And we close in on halftime, let’s all acknowledge and say thanks that this game is far, far better than both Egypt-Uruguay and Iran-Morocco were. 
   
   35’: Iniesta Comes Oh So Close 
   
   Andres Iniesta turns in the area and rolls a low shot toward the far post through a teammate’s legs. But he’s got the angle fractionally wrong, and while Rui Patricio dives to make it look good in the photos, the ball was always going wide. 
   
   The contrast in attacking styles tonight is remarkable: Spain attacks like a molasses spill — slowly and steadily creeping forward, ever forward, inch by inch — applying more and more pressure, hoping something finally cracks, and they’re in. Portugal, on the other hand, waits and waits and then breaks out like a stolen Ferrari on the counterattack. 
   
   Photo 
   
   30’: VAR Does its Job 
   
   They finally show the replay of the Spanish shot off the bar, and it wasn’t close to crossing the line when it came down. Goal line technology, introduced at the World Cup in 2014, does its job. I’ve never seen it fall to be honest. 
   
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   Fernando Hierro, by the way, is prowling the Spain coaching box in shirt sleeves like he wants to check in to the game. Gesturing, clapping, stalking. 
   
   29’: Silva Hits the Wall 
   
   Silva stands over the free kick with Koke as the referee sets the wall. Silva right, Koke left. But the shot finds the wall like a magnet. 
   
   26’: Spain Almost Scores Again 
   
   Was that in?? We’ll review. A Spanish shot rockets off the crossbar and down off the line — Georff Hurst-style — but a second look says no, it didn’t go in. And again play moves on. 
   
   24’: GOAL! Diego Costa Levels for Spain 
   
   Diego Costa gets behind the defense and dances around two defenders until he can get a look at the goal. Spotting it, he buries a shot past Rui Patricio. 
   
   Rory Smith: Spain’s reputation for delicacy is well-earned, but occasionally a little bit of brute force is required: Diego Costa bulldozes (just about fairly) through Pepe, twists and turns until he sees a glimmer of goal, and then arrows a shot past Rui Patricio. This is better than Iran against Morocco. 
   
   21’: Spain Threatens, but Misses 
   
   We’re spending a bit more time in Portugal’s end here as Spain probes the Portuguese defense at its leisure. Now Iniesta spots a crease and dashes into on the left. He takes the ball to the end line and cuts it back for Silva, but his shot goes wide. 
   
   17’: Free Kick for Ronaldo 
   
   Sergio Busquets loses a ball on the left side and, compounding his mistake, picks up a yellow. Ronaldo stands over the free kick. 
   
   Ronaldo slams it into the wall, half of Portugal’s team calls for a handball, but the referee, Italy’s Gianluca Rocchi, isn’t having it. He points the other way, and Spain is playing keepaway again. 
   
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   16’: Spain Tries to Find Comfort Zone 
   
   A little more possession for Spain here, which is their comfort zone. Quick one touch stuff: here you have it, oh no you take it back, no you, really, no you, OK, I’ll look over here, oh never mind here’s the ball back. But it might settle them a bit. 
   
   14’: Ronaldo in Charge 
   
   The crowd roars audibly literally every time Ronaldo touches the ball. He’s the star here, a spotlight that as we all know he doesn’t like. (I’m totally kidding; he looooooooves it.) 
   
   11’: Clock Games 
   
   Ruo Patricio almost seems like he’s time-wasting after collecting a deep ball, picking it up, dropping it, picking it up again. Which would be the funniest thing ever considering it’s THE ELEVENTH MINUTE. 
   
   Spain is wearing white today, btw, and Portugal is in Spain’s traditional red shirts. It’s a little disconcerting. 
   
   10’: Spain Tries to Recover 
   
   The ball falls to David Silva after a hopeful cross into the penalty area, and he slashes at it with his right foot and skies it over the bar. 
   
   The look on his face after that miss surely matches all of Spain’s, a nation trying to figure out how such a hopeful summer could go so wrong so far. 
   
   3’: Goal! Ronaldo Makes Spain Pay 
   
   Well, we said there would be drama, and that’s it from the start. A foul, a whistle and a penalty for Ronaldo! He converts, and just like that Spain’s World Cup somehow manages to get even worse. 
   
   Photo 
   
   Rory Smith: Four minutes in, Portugal leads, through what looked, at first glance, like something of a soft penalty. Cristiano Ronaldo’s dancing feet enticed Nacho — his Real Madrid teammate — into what was definitely a foolish tackle; the forward threw himself to the floor after what was probably fairly minimal contact, and then dusted himself down to convert the spot-kick. His celebration — stroking his chin — may have been a G.O.A.T. reference. More on that as we get it. 
   
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   The First Heavyweight Match of the World Cup 
   
   There’s a buoyant atmosphere in Sochi ahead of the first really heavyweight meeting of the 2018 World Cup — an Iberian derby between Spain and Portugal. It’s been easy to miss the European fans in Russia so far — the Latin American contingents are more numerous and, if we’re honest, louder — but there are plenty from both countries in the baking heat of Sochi, on the lip of the Black Sea. The stadium is pretty much full, too, which is kind of a relief, after both of today’s other games were pockmarked by empty seats. — Rory Smith 
   
   Spain’s New Coach Deals With Drama 
   
   Spain’s new coach, Fernando Hierro, has stepped into a bit of a mess before this game, but he told reporters this week that Spain had no time to dwell on it. 
   
   “We’ve come to fight for the World Cup,” he said. “We have a great opportunity and that should be the focus.” 
   
   Hierro understands the stage; he made four World Cup teams and played in three for Spain. He said this week that he took over the team in its time of crisis out of a sense of duty. “When the president told me the possibility, I had three choices: to say no, another was to go and the third was to stay, to take a step forward for the Spanish federation and for Spanish soccer,” he said. “I couldn’t say no because I would not forgive myself.” 
   
   Spain vs. Portugal Starting Lineups 
   
   The lineups are out in Sochi, and both include household names: 
   
   For Spain: De Gea; Nacho, Piqué, Ramos, Alba; Busquets, Koke, Iniesta; Isco, Silva; Diego Costa. 
   
   One player who may have been lost in all the drama is Spain goalkeeper David De Gea. He’s among the best in the world at his position, and he just signed a new five-year deal to stay at Manchester United. So that should clear his head just in time to face Ronaldo. 
   
   For Portugal: Patricio, Soares, Fonte, Pepe, Guerreiro, B Silva, Carvalho, Moutinho, Fernandes, Guedes, Ronaldo 
   
   They’ll have a lot to live up to: the day’s first two games both ended with dramatic late winners. The soccer, however, should be a bit smoother from these two. For the sake of everyone, let’s hope it’s Ronaldo and Iniesta and David Silva and Bernardo Silva we’re talking about later, and not something Pepe or Sergio Ramos has done. ||||| Published on Jun 15, 2018 
   
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   FOX Sports' Goal of the Day: Cristiano Ronaldo completes the hat trick | 2018 FIFA World Cup™ 
   
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target: – Cristiano Ronaldo is considered one of the best soccer players ever, and he proved why on Friday. He scored three times, including one with about 2 minutes left in regulation, to lift Portugal into a 3-3 tie with Spain in their World Cup opener. The feat makes him, at age 33 years and 131 days, the oldest player to notch a World Cup hat trick, notes ESPN. He's also only the fourth player ever to score in four World Cups. Ronaldo's first two goals weren't perhaps of the write-home-about-it variety, including one that went in with help from Spain's goalie, but the third one was incredible, per the BBC. It came on a free kick, and you can watch it here. The New York Times' headline on all this refers to a "draw for the ages, starring a player for all time."