Day two of the 2018 World Cup saw the game total triple from day one.
The day kicked off with Egypt and Uruguay in what was a tight contest, which was quickly followed by the opening fixture in Group B with African side Morocco taking on the Iranians. Lastly, we had two European powerhouses collide in the form of Spain and Portugal in the most entertaining game of the day.
The opening two games lacked the goals that fans were gifted with yesterday, but luckily for us, Spain and Portugal provided us with a fantastic game of football.
Here’s how the three games worked out:
Egypt 0 - 1 Uruguay
It was rumoured the past few days that Egyptian star Mohammad Salah would be fit enough to play in this fixture. However, that turned out not to be the case as the Liverpool forward sat out the game and watched his team get handed their first loss at a World Cup.
Salah could’ve proven to be the difference in this game. The game looked like it was heading to a 0-0 draw until an unlikely hero broke the deadlock. Jose Gimenez was the man who gave the Uruguayans the victory.
A free-kick wiped in by Carlos Sanchez was met by the head of Gimenez, who rose above the Egyptian defender for his sixth international goal.
GOAL!
José Giménez scores a late go ahead goal as Uruguay lead 1-0! #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/rlOr77uvms
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 15, 2020
It was a devasting blow for The Pharaohs, who did excellent job limiting both Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez. Suarez did miss a big chance to give his team the lead at the 24-minute mark when he hit the side netting. The Barcelona man also had a free-kick bounce off the woodwork.
Next up, Egypt will take on Russia on Tuesday and Uruguay will look to pile on the goals against Saudi Arabia.
Morocco 0 - 1 Iran
The second game ended in similar circumstances, this time with the Moroccans going home disappointed after a late header found the back of the net. The worst part about it all for them was that their own player was the one he scored it.
A free-kick from the left was wiped in and deflected past Munir, in the Moroccan goal, by Aziz Bouhaddouz. It was a fantastic header; too bad it was in the wrong goal.
GOAL!
Iran gets the late-winner on an own goal from Morocco’s Bouhaddouz #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/7S5NwBwVMe
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 15, 2020
The African nation had the majority of the chances with a total of 13 shots, and also had 68% of possession. In that end, those stats proved not to matter.
Next up, both nations take on a couple of European heavyweights with Morocco going up against Portugal, and Iran facing Spain.
Portugal 3 - 3 Spain
This was hands down the game of the day, and possibly one of the best games the World Cup has ever seen.
The goal scoring got going right away with a penalty from none other than Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid forward was tripped by his club teammate, Nacho, just inside the penalty area. Ronaldo made no mistake on his shot and gave his team a 1-0 lead.
A routine clearance from the Spanish was turned into something truly special by Diego Costa. Despite being surrounded by FIVE Portuguese defenders, Costa rifled a shot from the top of the box into the bottom left a tie the game up at 1-1. A magnificent piece of footballing skill by the Athetlic Madrid man.
GOAL!
Diego Costa fights behind enemy lines and bags the game-tying goal for Spain #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/Rq4ce6a3Vz
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 15, 2020
Portugal regained their lead right before halftime from, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Following the halftime break, Spain gained the lead for the first time with goals from Costa, his second of the game, and Nacho who redeemed himself with potentially the goal of the tournament.
🚀🚀🚀A ROCKET!🚀🚀🚀
Nacho scores on a screamer to give Spain a 3-2 lead over Portugal #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/f2WWEbKw4Z
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) June 15, 2020
However, the game wasn’t over yet; Ronaldo buried a free kick on the edge of the box to get his team back on level terms and get his hat-trick.
Ronaldo’s performance today really set the standard for all the other superstars in this tournament. If he can do this against Spain, one of the best teams in the world, it’ll be extremely exciting to watch him against Iran and Morocco.
