Ryan Pierse/Getty Images Uruguay booked their place in the last 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. The result also means that hosts Russia qualify from Group A while Egypt and Saudi Arabia are out. Morocco have also been eliminated after slipping to a 1-0 defeat to Portugal in Group B. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game as Portugal picked up their first win. Elsewhere in Group B, Spain beat Iran 1-0 to move top of the group and level on points with Portugal. Iran are just a point behind and remain in contention going into the final round of group games. Here's a look at the updated standings after Wednesday's matches. Group A (Team, games played, goal difference, points) Video Play Button Videos you might like 1. Russia, 2, +7, 6 2. Uruguay, 2, +2, 6 3. Egypt, 2, -3, 0 4. Saudi Arabia, 2, -6, 0 Group B 1. Spain, 2, 1, 4 2. Portugal, 2, 1, 4 3. Iran, 2, 0, 3 4. Morocco, 2, -2, 0 Group C 1. France, 1, +1, 3 2. Denmark, 1, +1, 3 3. Australia, 1, -1, 0 4. Peru, 1, -1, 0 Group D 1. Croatia, 1, +2, 3 2. Iceland, 1, 0, 1 3. Argentina, 1, 0, 1 4. Nigeria, 1, -2, 0 Group E 1. Serbia, 1, +1, 3 2. Brazil, 1, 0, 1 3. Switzerland, 1, 0, 1 4. Costa Rica, 1, -1, 0 Group F 1. Sweden, 1, +1, 3 2. Mexico, 1, +1, 3 3. Germany, 1, -1, 0 4. South Korea, 1, -1, 0 Group G 1. Belgium, 1, +3, 3 2. England, 1, +1, 3 3. Tunisia, 1, -1, 0 4. Panama, 1, -3, 0 Group H 1. Japan 1, +1, 3 2. Senegal 1, +1, 3 3. Poland 1, -1, 0 4. Colombia 1, -1, 0 For the complete standings, visit FIFA.com. The bracket can be found here. Barcelona striker Luis Suarez was on target as Uruguay saw off Saudi Arabia. The Uruguayan calmly stroked home at the far post after goalkeeper Mohammed Al Owais misjudged a ball into the penalty area. The game marked Suarez's 100th international appearance, and the goal was also a landmark, as shown by Opta: Saudi Arabia put in a much-improved display from their opening defeat to hosts Russia and saw plenty of the ball but could not find a way past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera. Uruguay were once again far from impressive but did enough to win and were tough to break down. Oscar Tabarez's side will complete the group phase with a game against Russia which will decide who finishes top in Group A. Group B is also hotting up with Portugal taking a step towards qualification with a win over Morocco. Ronaldo took just four minutes to open the scoring as he headed home his own landmark goal, per Match of the Day: Portugal may have won the match but Morocco were the better team for long periods. Herve Renard's side created plenty of chances but could not put them away, and they were made to pay for a lack of precision in front of goal. Simon Stone at the BBC warned against writing Portugal off: The group's other game saw Spain secure a hard-fought win over Iran. Fernando Hierro's side scored the game's only goal through Diego Costa on 53 minutes, his second of the tournament. Costa received the ball in the box and just as he turned Ramin Rezaeian came in to tackle, with the ball hitting the striker and flying past goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand. The Atletico Madrid man said he was lucky after the match: Iran did have chances and thought they had equalised when Saeid Ezatolahi fired home. His goal prompted big celebrations but they were quickly wiped out as the goal was disallowed for offside. There was another scare for Spain late on as Mehdi Taremi headed just over, but they held on for a crucial three points which sets up a fascinating final round of fixtures. All four teams are in action on Monday as Portugal face Iran and Spain take on Morocco.<doc-sep>Ahead of the final group stage fixtures, here are all the possible scenarios for teams to qualify for the Round of 16 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Editor's note: This piece was originally published on 25 June, and is being edited to reflect the results of Monday (25 June) The second round of fixtures in the 2018 FIFA World Cup group stage is over. Six teams have booked their spots in the Round of 16 with 17 teams fighting for the remaining 10 spots. Ahead of the third and final group stage fixtures, take a look at what each team has to do to qualify for the knockout rounds. Here are the tie-break scenarios for rankings in the groups: — Greatest number of points — Goal difference in all group matches — Goals scored in all group matches If two or more teams are equal on the basis of the above three criteria, their rankings shall be determined as follows: — Greatest number of points obtained in the group matches between the teams concerned — Goal difference resulting from the group matches between the teams concerned — Greater number of goals scored in all group matches between the teams concerned — Greater number of points obtained regarding fair play conduct. (Here yellow cards earned will see teams docked a point, indirect red card as a result of a second yellow card will see teams docked three points. Teams will lose four points for a direct red card, while yellow card and direct red will see them lose five points, with only one of the deductions applied to a player in a single game.) — Drawing of lots by FIFA Teams that have qualified so far: Russia, Uruguay, France, Croatia, England, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. Teams that are eliminated: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Peru, Costa Rica, South Korea, Tunisia, Panama, Poland and Iran. Group A Russia and Uruguay are through to the Round of 16 after winning both their opening matches against Saudi Arabia and Egypt. On Monday, their clash in Samara will decide the winner of Group A. If the match ends in a draw, Russia will finish first due to their superior goal difference. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have been eliminated and will face off to avoid finishing at the bottom of the group. Update: Uruguay (nine points) and Russia (six) made the cut after the last group stage matches. Group B Both Spain and Portugal have four points off two games and have identical goal differences with four goals scored and three conceded. They also drew their match 3-3. However, Spain are first because they have a better fair play record than Portugal. The Spaniards have only one yellow card as opposed to their Iberian rivals' two. Iran are third with three points and play Portugal in their final match. The winner of that clash will move on to the knockout stages. For Spain, a draw against Morocco would be enough for them to qualify. Even if they lose, they would still qualify if Portugal beat Iran. However, if both Spain and Portugal lose, the team with the heavier defeat will crash out with Iran topping the group. With regards to who tops the group in case both Spain and Portugal win, the team with the bigger winning margin will finish first. If both teams with an identical margin, then fair play record will decide who tops the group. Update: Spain (five points) topped the group while Portugal finished second (five) after the last group stage matches. Group C France have already qualified for the knockout rounds with six points while Peru have been knocked out. Denmark, with four points and Australia, with one point, are in contention to join France into the next round. In the final round of fixtures, Denmark take on France with Australia playing Peru. Denmark will qualify for the Round of 16 with a point. However, if they lose, they would hope that Peru do them a favour and either beat or hold Australia to a draw. The Socceroos need to win and hope that France beat Denmark. The winner of the France-Denmark clash will top the group. France will top the group with a point too. Group D Croatia have made it out of the group stage and have all but topped the group. However, all the remaining three teams have a chance of joining the Croats in the Round of 16. Nigeria are the best-placed of the trio having won 2-0 against Iceland. The Super Eagles will qualify for the knockouts if they beat Argentina in their final match. However, if they draw, they would hope that Croatia beat or secure a draw against Iceland. Things get complicated when it comes to Iceland and Argentina. Iceland have to beat Croatia no matter what to stand a chance of qualifying and need Nigeria to not win. If the Nigeria-Argentina match ends in a draw, then Iceland have to beat Croatia by three goals to leapfrog ahead of Nigeria due to a better goal difference. Argentina need to win against Nigeria and they will qualify if Iceland fail to beat Croatia. If both Iceland and Argentina win, then the team with the better goal difference will qualify. If both teams finish with identical goal difference then the team which has scored more goals will join Croatia in the next round. Before the final round, Argentina have three yellow cards to Iceland's none. Group E None of the teams have assured qualification to the next round but Costa Rica have bowed out from the tournament after losing both their opening matches. Brazil and Switzerland have four points. Brazil are first in the group with a +2 goal difference compared to Switzerland's +1. Serbia are third with three points. Brazil will secure entry to the knockouts with a point against Serbia. The winner of the match between Switzerland and Serbia is guaranteed to progress to the next round. If both Brazil and Switzerland win with an identical scoreline, Brazil will top the group due to a better goal difference.<doc-sep>A supporter of Iran reacts during the FIFA World Cup 2018 group B preliminary round soccer match between Iran and Spain in Kazan, Russia, 20 June 2018. EPA-EFE/ROBERT GHEMENT Iran remain in the running with an outside chance, but they’ll need to beat Portugal to make their dreams come true. Stay up to date with all the latest news from Russia with Daily Maverick‘s dedicated World Cup 2018 section. Read our guide to group scenarios and an explanation of tie-breakers here. Fixtures and kick off times Spain vs Morocco Iran vs Portugal Both matches kick off at 20:00. Group B live standings These standings are live and will update throughout the final group games. Standings provided by Sofascore LiveScore Qualified: No one. Eliminated: Morocco. How the group shapes up Welcome to the first group of “this could get complicated”. Spain and Portugal currently sit top of the group on four points each while Iran remain in with a chance on three points. Since it’s widely expected that Spain and Portugal will progress and win their final group matches, let’s focus on Iran as an outside shot. There are a few scenarios that will see Iran progress. A win over Portugal and a Spain loss will be enough to see them through. A draw will be enough if Spain lose to Morocco by two goals or more. Iran could knock Portugal out if they win their match and Spain win against Morocco. It’s complicated, you see, which is why we’ve got live standings. What to expect Cristiano Ronaldo has been on another planet in this World Cup. He scored a hat-trick and the two fastest goals at the tournament so far. Plucky as Iran are, they might have a tough time containing him – unless they opt for the kick-the-man-until-he-is-down strategy. To their credit, though, Iran’s defence was impressively organised against Spain and if they can frustrate Portugal for long enough, well, maybe Ronaldo will throw himself to the ground enough to get booked. The two sides have met twice before – once in the World Cup back in 2006 and once in the Independence Cup in 1972. Portugal won both of those matches. The one glimmer of hope for Team Melli is that coach Carlos Queiroz has had spells with Portugal, too. His inside knowledge might help them. With elimination confirmed, Morocco have nothing to lose, so they could very well rest some of their big-name players. That’s good news for Spain, who have had somewhat mixed results in the tournament so far. Despite the six-goal thriller against Portugal in their opening match, a lucky deflection off Diego Costa’s knee was the only thing that separated them from Iran. What the players are saying “The most interesting and important match in my seven years with Iran. We will keep on working for our dreams, and our dream is to try and qualify for the second round. We know it will be difficult, but as I said before we came here and didn’t expect easy things. Against Portugal, it will be match point for us.” Iran coach Carlos Queiroz. Who awaits in the next round Group B’s winners will face the runners-up from Group A, while the second-placed side in Group B play the Group A winners. That’s Russia or Uruguay. DM Antoinette Muller Follow Save More<doc-sep>If the airless sensation inside the space-age Samara Arena arose in part from the sopping evening humidity, then it also reflected the oxygen sucked with dramatic suddenness from Russia’s exuberant World Cup campaign. Having glided so serenely into the last 16, the hosts smashed head-first here into the reality of their own limitations, as a Uruguay side turbocharged by Luis Suarez put them to the sword with a ruthless flourish. There had been suggestions that Vladimir Putin might swing by this game for another dose of reflected glory, but ultimately he did well to stay away. While the Sbornaya had quickened pulses and raised eyebrows with their constant running en route to two stirring victories, they slipped back against Uruguay into the leaden displays of old. They did not look like the same team who had demolished Saudi Arabia and Egypt at this tournament, but they did bear an uncanny resemblance to the side who had lost tamely to Austria just a few weeks before. Russia had the luxury of knowing that they had already eclipsed all public expectations, and it showed. On their first appearance in Samara, they encountered febrile partisan support but could do nothing to reciprocate, folding weakly as soon as Suarez ignored some wrestling in the box to dispatch his free-kick low to Igor Akinfeev’s left.<doc-sep>
With the group stage games finished, FIFA World Cup 2018 Round of 16 matches are now clear. The top two teams in each group have qualified into the last 16. Let's take a look at how it went in the group stage qualifying: Group A and Group B Uruguay topped the Group A with three wins out of three with Russia also qualifying from the group. Spain and Portugal took top positions in Group B after two dramatic draws on Monday. However, it was Spain who took the top position on the basis of number of goals scored. Spain now face hosts Russia while Portugal take on Uruguay in the Round of 16. Group C and Group D France, on seven points, topped the Group C and secured passage to the next round. Ssecond-placed Denmark finished with five four points after dull draw against France. Croatia won all three matches to lead Group D. On the other hand, Lionel Messi's Argentina sealed entry into Round of 16 with a win in their last game. The winner of Group C will meet second place in Group D, while the second placed team will face the Group D winner. Which means that France will meet Argentina in the biggest match of Round of 16. Denmark will take on Croatia. Group E and Group F Brazil 2-0 win against Serbia and seven points from three games meant that they made it to the top of Group E. Switzerland played a draw against Costa Rica to finish second with five points. While Argentina and Brazil escaped with wins in their last games Germany were knocked out after a loss aginst South Korea. This meant that Sweden took the top spots in Group F. Mexico remained second. So we will see Brazil vs Mexico and Sweden vs Switzerland in next round. Group G and Group H England and Belgium were guaranteed to progress but their finishing positions were decided on Thursday. Belgium defeated England 1-0 to secure the top spot in the group. However, there was lots of drama in the other gropu with Japan, Colombia and Senegal having a chance to qualify. Colombia defeated Senegal to win the group. Japan lost to Poland but managed to stay ahead of Senegal in terms of Fair Play points. Here are the Round of 16 matches: