Group B Review

This is how Group B looked after Matchday 1.

Suprisingly Iran topped the group with 3 points after winning a close encounter against Morocco. The match ended 1-0 with an own goal coming from Morocco's defender in final minutes of the game.As Iran was pushing for a late winner they got what they wanted and the Moroccon hearts were broken in the dying minutes and the whole of Iran celebrated this winner with joy.

Two European giants Portugal and Spain played out an exciting 3-3 draw. Cristiano Ronaldo showed up for Portugal and scored a brilliant hattrick. This game was full of drama and as a football fan it was an absolute treat to watch.(You can check the in-depth review of this game in my 2nd blog).

After all the teams played their 2nd match this is how  Group B  looked and there were some changes which everybody expected.

Spain played against Iran and they emerged 1-0 winners from the game with Diego Costa scoring the only goal of the game. As expected Spain controlled the game since the start and Iran found it difficult to keep the ball with Spain pressing for the ball as soon as they lost it. But respect to Iran for conceding only a goal in the whole game and going with lots of positive in their next game. 

The second game took place between Portugal and Morocco with the European side emerging as 1-0 winners in this game. Cristiano Ronaldo scored the only goal of the game in 4th minute taking his goal tally to 4 goals in 2 games. This result meant that Morocco were out the World Cup 2018 as they had 0 points in 2 games. Even though the Moroccon players gave their all and did everything right except for putting the ball in the back of the net.

This is how Group B finished after 3rd and the final matches. Spain and Portugal advanced through to the Round of 16 with 5 points each which meant Iran and Morocco missed out and were eliminated.

The first game was between Portugal and Iran. This game was a Do or Die situation for both the teams as Portugal needed at least a draw to advance to the next round and Iran needed a win to advance.

The game finished 1-1 which meant Portugal went through leaving Iran out.

The second game was between Spain and Morocco. Spain needed at least a draw to qualify and that's what they got. The game ended 2-2 with Spain scoring in the 91st minute to save their blushes from being knocked out from the group phase. In case the game would have ended 2-1 Spain would have been knocked out and Iran would have qualified as Iran had a better Goal Difference.

I just want to take a moment here and appreciate the efforts put in by Iran and Morocco throughout the group stage. Even though they were the underdogs and were put in a group consisting of two European giants they showed the world that they are no less than anybody giving tough fight in every match they played and players gave their 100% on the pitch as most of them were playing their first World Cup. The future for these two nations are very bright and we as football fans are very thankfull to them for putting up a great show and entertaining us.