Kickoff of the World Cup: Ronaldo misses the penalty, but Portugal still advances

Saransk, Russia • Cristiano Ronaldo's missed penalty put Portugal in first place in his group at the World Cup.

It could have been worse if it was for Ricardo Quaresma, who started for the first time in the tournament and scored his first World Cup goal with a shot that was about as late as n & rsquo; Any other tournament.

Portugal finished second in Group B after a 1-1 draw against Iran on Monday. The 2016 European champions will face Uruguay on Saturday in the round of 16.

"The conclusion and the most important thing is that we will continue to play," said Portugal coach Fernando Santos. "We had a strong opponent."

Quaresma became the only player other than Ronaldo to score for the Portuguese in three games in Russia. The 34-year-old midfielder also became Portugal's most senior World Cup scorer by hitting a curling shot from the edge of the penalty area that went beyond Iranian goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand.

Quaresma's goal came on a night when Ronaldo – who had scored Portugal's four goals in his first two Group B matches – was denied a penalty by Beiranvand.

"We were at the top of the game until the penalty, and we did not do it." It was not perfect, but that's football, Santos said. "We did what was expected and now we have to settle down and think about Uruguay."

Karim Ansarifard scored a late penalty for Iran, who needed to win to advance but could not cross a second time despite a furious charge in the final minutes.

The penalty was awarded after a video showing a hand in the zone against Portugal. But although the coach of Iran, Carolos Queiroz, has benefited from this review, he has opposed the system for the second day in a row. In particular, he cited a decision to give Ronaldo a yellow card after his elbow hit Iranian defender Morteza Pouraliganji in the face.

"Elbow is a red card in the rules," Queiroz says, adding that there are no written exceptions for players named Ronaldo or Lionel Messi. "Decisions must be clear to everyone, to the people, everyone is in agreement that VAR is not doing well, it's the reality, there are a lot of complaints."

Kaliningrad, Russia • A video replay in injury time gave Spain the goal it needed to win Group B at the World Cup.

Spaniard Iago Aspas scored the late equalizer in a draw against Morocco. His devious deviation from Dani Carvajal was initially denied for offside, but the video assistant referee canceled the call at the Kaliningrad stadium. The decision triggered a scrum from the players on both sides.

Another substitute, Moroccan striker Youssef En Nesyri, scored a goal in the 81st minute to give hope for a victory in Morocco, already eliminated.

Earlier, a mix of Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos gave Morocco its first World Cup goal, Khalid Boutaib jumping on the ball and scoring in the 14th minute. Iniesta made amends five minutes later by setting up Isco on the other end to bring Spain back to halftime.

With Portugal also drawing with Iran, Spain progressed as the group's winner as she scored more goals and the next matches host Russia on Sunday in Moscow.

"We have not won anything yet, it was a very difficult match," said Isco. "Maybe we were not focused from the beginning, we needed them to mark us to force us to react."

Spain is perhaps on a run of 23 games without defeat, but it was far from convincing in group and again showed defensive weaknesses to concede twice against a Moroccan team that did not win. had not scored a goal in his previous two matches.

Samara, Russia • Luis Suarez was finally shaken at this year's World Cup.

Sitting on the podium at the post-match press conference as a result of Uruguay's 3-0 win over Russia, a reporter asked him why he often sported a sad expression.

Suarez threw away his translation headphones, then smiled widely in defiance and finally said, "What a waste of time.Next question please."

In addition to this small point, Suarez showed his best behavior in Russia by scoring two goals as Uruguay crossed the group stage with three wins in a row – sending the two-time champions in eighths of final of the World Cup.

Edinson Cavani also scored Monday against the host country, which lost its first game of the tournament.

Both teams were already guaranteed to have places in the round of 16, but Uruguay's victory put them ahead of group A and heads to a match in Sochi on Saturday against Portugal .

Uruguay, who also took advantage of a goal against his side in the first half, had his third consecutive shutout after consecutive 1-0 victories against Egypt and the United States. Saudi Arabia. The Uruguayans and goaltender Fernando Muslera have not allowed any goals in the six matches of the team this year.

"After winning the first two matches 1-0, our goal was to get another one," Suarez said. "We wanted to play as before, but better."

The last two World Cups in Suarez have been marked by controversy: he was fired from Brazil four years ago for biting Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. In 2010, he used his hands to block Dominic Adiyiah's head and then celebrated when Ghana missed the penalty. Uruguay dominated in a shootout, and Suarez was scored as a dirty player.

Volgograd, Russia • The oldest person to play in a World Cup game made spectacular saves on Monday. He also watched two pass in front of him.

Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, 45, took the lead for his team's final match. Although he saved a penalty, he could not prevent Saudi Arabia from winning 2-1 in a match between two teams that had already been eliminated.

"I am very sorry for the fans, for everyone in Egypt," El Hadary said. "I want to thank my teammates and it was a great honor for me to play."

Salem Aldawsari scored the winning goal among the Saudis with almost the last kick of the match, flying El Hadary from a tight angle inside the Egyptian penalty area.

Mohamed Salah, who was playing for the second time since the left shoulder injury in the Champions League final, had placed Egypt in the 22nd minute after having skillfully controlled a long balloon. Abdalla Said before releasing goalkeeper Yasser Almosailem.

It was Salah's second goal at the World Cup, and Egypt's first in open play at the World Cup since 1934.

Salman Alfaraj allowed the Saudis to get a penalty kick in the first half after Ali Gabr dropped Fahad Almuwallad into the box. The decision was confirmed after a video review and the penalty was taken at the sixth minute of the injury time.

"I think that in general we kept pace, we kept possession … and I think we deserved to win," said Saudi coach Juan Antonio Pizzi. "Speaking of the future, well, the association will have to decide what they will do."