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Cristiano Ronaldo waits for a free kick in Portugal's victory over Morocco. (Matthias Schrader / AP)
Iran (1-0-1, 3 points) against Portugal (1-1-0, 4 points)
Group B, Mordovia Arena, Saransk
Iran and Portugal are meeting for the third time with many issues for both parties. The Melli team, which won its second World Cup victory in its first group match against Morocco, probably needed another win against Portugal to qualify for the knockout stages. Meanwhile, Portugal, who tied Spain with a hat trick from Cristiano Ronaldo and held out for a 1-0 win against Morocco last Wednesday, is tied with at least one draw . Portugal is 2-0 against Iran, including a 2-0 win in the 2006 World Cup group stage.
Sunday night, a group of Iranian fans Gatthered outside the hotel of the Portugal team in Saransk with drums and vuvuzelas, perhaps in order to give a slight advantage to their team in Monday's game. The bustle drew Ronaldo to the window in an effort to calm the crowd. It seemed to work, while the Portuguese striker was following his sleep gesture with a thumbs up.
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When: Monday, 14:00 East.
How to watch on TV: Fox.
How to broadcast online: Fox Sports and Fox Soccer Match Pass apps and FoxSportsGo.com.
How to look in Spanish: Telemundo.
How to look in Canada: TSN and CTV networks from Bell Media, the TSN GO app and TSN.ca/live.
[All the World Cup tiebreaker rules and knockout round scenarios, explained]
Team Profiles
Iran (1-0-1, 3 points)
- Previous results: Morocco defeated, 1-0; lost to Spain, 1-0.
- What is at stake: Iran almost certainly needs a win to qualify for the knockout stages. If the Melli team wins a draw against Portugal, Spain should lose at least two goals for Morocco, a result that would be considered one of the biggest surprises of the World Cup of this year. A Spanish defeat of a goal could also be enough, coupled with a draw between Iran and Portugal.
- Notable: Iran has never advanced to the knockout round.
- FIFA World Ranking: 37. ELO World Ranking: 20.
Portugal (1-1-0, 4 points)
- Previous results: Spain linked, 3-3; defeated Morocco, 1-0.
- What is at stake: Portugal is tied for the Group B standings with Spain, which faces Morocco in Kaliningrad on Monday. Portugal will qualify for the round of 16 with a win or draw against Iran. The winner of group B may well be determined by the goal differential.
- Notable: Portugal hopes to qualify for the round of 16 in the last four World Cups after being eliminated in the group stage in 2014.
- FIFA World Rankings: 4. ELO World Rankings: 5.
Players to watch
Cristiano Ronaldo has four goals in two games, placing him in the conversation for the Golden Boot. His goal, four minutes behind Portugal's 1-0 victory over Morocco, was his 85th place on the international stage, putting him ahead of Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskas as the best European scorer of all time. Incidentally, the only man ahead of Ronaldo on the international list of scorers is Iranian legend Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals in 149 games. Iran's hopes of moving forward will depend partly on goalkeeper's play Alireza Beiranvand, who cleared Morocco and granted only a shady goal to Spaniard Diego Costa in a 1-0 defeat last week.
Learn more about the World Cup:
Finish the schedule and results of the World Cup
Germany, pushed to an unknown edge, keeps the hopes of the World Cup alive with a staggering goal
FIFA investigates the celebration of the goal of the players of Switzerland, an Albanian nationalist gesture
How foreign born players put the "world" in World Cup
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