It gave up three goals to Portugal in the opening game, a pulsating 3-3 tie in which Cristiano Ronaldo accounted for all the scoring for the Portuguese. Morocco has nowhere near the talent of Portugal, and has no one like Ronaldo. Yet it managed to expose defensive deficiencies on Monday that Hierro said he knows he’ll need to address if his team is to go any further. “We can improve things,” Hierro said, adding, “Five goals in three matches isn’t the way forward.” Morocco took advantage of Spain’s high defensive line and seized the lead after just 14 minutes following a mix-up between two of the most experienced players on Spain’s roster. When Andrés Iniesta — the veteran midfielder who scored the World Cup-winning goal in 2010 — and the captain Sergio Ramos got in each other’s way near the halfway line, Khalid Boutaib pinched the ball away from them and raced down the field for an easy finish. Iniesta got some redemption, providing the assist for Isco five minutes later. But Morocco, backed by thousands of traveling supporters, refused to fade away in what was guaranteed to be its final match at this tournament. Boutaib made another run on goal following a simple throw down field a few minutes later. Spain’s goalkeeper, David de Gea, blocked Boutaib’s shot but could only watch as Noureddine Amrabat’s thunderbolt of a rebound bounced back off the woodwork early in the second half. Then, with just nine minutes left in regulation time, the substitute Youssef En-Nesyri rose above the Spanish defense on a corner kick and headed home a goal to make it 2-1. Spain looked to have blown the game, and their chance at winning the group, until Aspas got a flick on to Dani Carvajal’s cross in stoppage time. As he turned to celebrate, though, he could see the linesman’s flag raised, calling offside. The referee stepped in, making the signal for a video review, a new and unlikely emblem for the 2018 World Cup. Amid jeers and whistles, Spain had been saved. As they trooped off the field, relieved to still be in the tournament, the Spanish players received another bit of good news. Iran’s V.A.R.-assisted penalty had saved Spain from the prospect of a meeting with Uruguay, the tiny South American nation that revels in its nickname of “aguafiestas”, or party poopers, for the number of times it has sent bigger nations crashing out of the World Cup. Instead, Spain faces Russia, which had been overrun by Uruguay earlier in the day. “Luck of the champion? We will have to see what happens on July 1 at 5 p.m.,” Hierro said, looking forward to the next challenge in his unlikely World Cup coaching career.<doc-sep>Day 12 at the 2018 World Cup is over, and boy did it bring excitement. Just the second day of the tournament with four matches, we got 12 goals and nearly some historic upsets. Here's all that went down. Monday's World Cup scores Is Uruguay a contender? The South Americans ripped apart Russia on Monday to win Group A, earning a 3-0 victory in a game that could have been worse for the host nation. It's the first truly impressive showing for two-time winners. And don't look now, but Uruguay might be a contender to win it all. While the attack has come to life, the defense has been sharp, not allowing a single goal in the group stage. Portugal avoids a huge disaster Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo were just inches away from being eliminated from the World Cup. Ronaldo's team drew Iran 1-1, sneaking into the next round as a runner-up in Group B. Had this ball shot by Mehdi Taremi, in the 94th minute, gone in, the Portuguese team would have been headed home: This football, a game of inches? Spain backing into the next round Here's how Spain's World Cup has gone. Concede a hat trick from Ronaldo in a draw to Portugal, beat Iran on a deflection and draw Morocco. Yeah, Spain is backing into the round of 16, having yet to put together an impressive hour, let alone 90 minutes of play. The team had to score in added time to draw Morocco, What it all means It means that Spain wins Group B, and will face the runner-up of Group A, Russia, on Sunday. Portugal, as runner-up of Group B, will take on Group A winner Uruguay on Saturday. World Cup bracket Tuesday's World Cup slate Group C: Denmark vs. France, 10 a.m. ET, Fox Group C: Peru vs. Australia, 10 a.m. ET, FS1 Group D: Argentina vs. Nigeria, 2 p.m. ET, Fox Group D: Croatia vs. Iceland, 2 p.m. ET, FS1 You can stream Tuesday's decisive matches from Groups C and D on fuboTV (Try for free).<doc-sep>Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup French players celebrate with the World Cup trophy after defeating Croatia in the final on Sunday, July 15. Hide Caption 1 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup French midfielder Paul Pogba celebrates with the trophy. Hide Caption 2 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France mobs Kylian Mbappe after his goal gave the team a 4-1 lead. Hide Caption 3 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Croatia's Ivan Strinic reacts during the match. Hide Caption 4 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France manager Didier Deschamps is lifted by his players after the victory. Deschamps was also a player on the 1998 French team that won the World Cup. Hide Caption 5 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris makes a jumping save against Croatia. Hide Caption 6 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup French players celebrate after the final whistle. Hide Caption 7 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup French President Emmanuel Macron shows his excitement while watching the match. Hide Caption 8 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Paul Pogba, bottom, runs to the corner after scoring France's third goal. Hide Caption 9 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France's Lucas Hernandez tackles Ante Rebic. Hide Caption 10 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup The referee used video review on this play late in the first half and called for a penalty after Ivan Perisic handled the ball in the Croatian box. Antoine Griezmann stepped up to convert the penalty and give France a 2-1 lead. Hide Caption 11 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Perisic, bottom left, scored a spectacular first-half goal to tie the match at 1-1. Hide Caption 12 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Will Smith and Nicky Jam perform during the closing ceremony held before the final. Hide Caption 13 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Belgian players celebrate Eden Hazard's goal in the third-place match against England on Saturday, July 14. The Belgians won 2-0. Hide Caption 14 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Thomas Meunier opened the scoring for Belgium in the fourth minute. Hide Caption 15 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup English goalkeeper Jordan Pickford reacts after the first goal against Belgium. Hide Caption 16 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Mario Mandzukic scores against England late in extra time to give Croatia a 2-1 victory in the semifinals on Wednesday, July 11. Hide Caption 17 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Mandzukic celebrates after his goal. Hide Caption 18 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Croatia's Ivan Strinic, right, challenges England's Jesse Lingard. Hide Caption 19 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Croatian defender Sime Vrsaljko goes over Ashley Young for a header. Hide Caption 20 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup A photographer is knocked over by members of the Croatian team as they celebrate the late Mandzukic goal. Hide Caption 21 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Players collide during the Croatia-England semifinal. Croatia played 120 minutes for the third straight match. Hide Caption 22 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Lingard shields the ball in the corner. Hide Caption 23 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France's Antoine Griezmann celebrates at the end of the semifinal match against Belgium on Tuesday, July 10. France won 1-0 to advance to the final. Hide Caption 24 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France's Olivier Giroud kisses teammate Samuel Umtiti after Umtiti scored on a header against Belgium. Hide Caption 25 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Giroud is challenged by Belgium defender Vincent Kompany. Hide Caption 26 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France's teenage sensation, Kylian Mbappe, jumps over Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Hide Caption 27 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Thierry Henry, assistant coach for Belgium and former French captain, consoles Belgian players after the semifinal loss. Hide Caption 28 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Luka Modric jumps for the ball during Croatia's quarterfinal victory over Russia on July 7. Hide Caption 29 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Croatian players celebrate after defeating Russia in a penalty shootout. The match was tied 2-2 after extra time. Hide Caption 30 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Russian forward Fedor Smolov reacts after the Croatia match. Hide Caption 31 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Croatia's Mario Mandzukic, left, and Russia's Mario Fernandes go for the ball. Hide Caption 32 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Croatia's Andrej Kramaric celebrates after scoring the opening goal against Russia. Hide Caption 33 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup English defenders Harry Maguire, left, and John Stones celebrate their quarterfinal victory over Sweden on July 7. Maguire scored the opening goal in the 2-0 win. Hide Caption 34 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup English manager Gareth Southgate celebrates his team's win. Hide Caption 35 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Dele Alli scores on a header for England's second goal. Hide Caption 36 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Swedish players are dejected at the end of the match. Hide Caption 37 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Belgian players celebrate the second goal in their 2-1 win over Brazil on July 6. They advanced to play France in the semifinals. Hide Caption 38 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Brazilian star Neymar reacts after the final whistle. Hide Caption 39 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Belgium celebrates their first goal, which came off a deflected header in the 13th minute. Hide Caption 40 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois leaps for a loose ball in the box. Hide Caption 41 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Kevin De Bruyne controls the ball against Brazil. Hide Caption 42 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France's Olivier Giroud, left, and Uruguay's Martin Caceres battle for the ball during their quarterfinal match on July 6. France won 2-0. Hide Caption 43 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera watches the ball leak into the net after he misplayed an Antoine Griezmann shot in the second half. Hide Caption 44 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup France's Benjamin Pavard, top, and Uruguay's Cristian Rodriguez compete for a header. Hide Caption 45 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup A France supporter cheers ahead of the match. Hide Caption 46 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup English players react after their shootout win over Colombia on July 3. It was England's first-ever shootout win at a World Cup. Hide Caption 47 of 197 Photos: The best photos of the 2018 World Cup Colombian striker Radamel Falcao heads the ball toward goal on July 3. Hide Caption 48 of 197<doc-sep>
The first two matchups of the World Cup knockout stage are set, but not after a dizzying spell of simultaneous drama left us with mouths agape. Spain and Uruguay are group winners, while Portugal and Russia are through in second place. MOSCOW — Day 12 of World Cup 2018 is done, and the drama reached a peak level. In Group B, favorites Spain and Portugal couldn’t manage three points against their game foes (Spain 2, Morocco 2 and Portugal 1, Iran 1) but still advanced to the knockout rounds, even though Iran made it heartbreakingly close late against the Portuguese. Earlier in the day in Group A, things were considerably less dramatic, as Uruguay beat Russia 3-0 to win the group and leave the Russians in a we’ll-take-it second-place spot. Here are my five thoughts on Day 12: • Simultaneous games plus late simultaneous VAR calls = craziness The drama was off the charts late in Group B when we saw two huge VAR calls at the same time: One that gave Iran a penalty against Portugal (that was converted for a 1-1 tie) and one that gave Spain a late equalizer on Iago Aspas's back-heel flick in a 2-2 tie against Morocco. That sudden turn allowed Spain to win the group ahead of Portugal and even gave Iran a late chance to win the game–and the group!–but a last-minute shot by the Iranians ended up hitting the side-netting. It’s worth noting that VAR got both those calls right, though there will be plenty of debate over whether VAR got it wrong when Cristiano Ronaldo was given a yellow card instead of a red in the second half. Spain Stable but Still Finding Footing at World Cup Under Band-Aid Manager Hierro • Spain was as disappointing as Morocco was impressive Spain was uncharacteristically poor in the back on Monday: Gerard Piqué could have picked up a red card for a sliding two-footed tackle early in the game. And soon after that a mixup between Sergio Ramos and Andrés Iniesta allowed Khalid Boutaib to break free and put Morocco ahead. (Ramos and Piqué, two of the most revered center backs in the game, have been wildly up and down in Russia.) The Moroccans have to be included in a group of the best World Cup teams ever to be eliminated after two games. They deserved to beat Spain on Youssef En Nesyri’s header, and you can only wonder what might have happened if Morocco had finished better earlier in the tournament. World Cup 2018: Advancing Scenarios For Each Group • Uruguay is still set to make a deep run I had Uruguay going to the semifinals in my pre-tournament predictions, and my feeling remains unchanged after the Celeste grabbed all nine points in (an admittedly easy) Group A. The Uruguayans have improved in each game and are getting production out of the veteran core of Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani, Diego Godín and Fernando Muslera. Then there’s a wealth of younger options that can make a difference; against Russia it was Diego Laxalt, who abused Igor Smolnikov into two yellow cards and fired the shot on Uruguay’s second goal, which resulted in an own goal on Denis Cheryshev. • Russia slipped today, but don’t write them off just yet You had a sense the hosts would regress to the mean after the euphoria of two straight wins to start the tournament (in perhaps the easiest World Cup group ever). But before you say, “This was the real Russia,” keep in mind that the Russians played with 10 men for most of the game and went without their best player, Aleksandr Golovin, to keep him from picking up a yellow-card suspension. The Russians will be underdogs in their round of 16 game against Spain, but remember where it will take place: Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where the home support will likely be massive. Back in November, Russia held Spain to a 3-3 draw in a friendly in Saint Petersburg, and while the stakes and stage will clearly be different, that's experience upon which the hosts can draw. Russia has already had a “successful” World Cup by surviving the group. But it will be motivated to do more than that. In Russia, a World Cup Surprise Party Celebration • I’m going to miss simultaneous group finales with a 48-team tournament How many dramatic moments have we seen over the years thanks to the simultaneous group finale format?