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MOSCOW – Day 12 of the 2018 World Cup is over and the drama has reached a peak. In Group B, Spain and Portugal failed to gain three points against their opponents (Spain 2, Morocco 2 and Portugal 1, Iran 1) but qualified for the Round of 16, even if Iran is closer to the Portuguese. .
Earlier in the day in Group A, things were less dramatic, with Uruguay defeating Russia 3-0 to win the group and leaving the Russians in second place.
Here are my five thoughts on day 12:
• Simultaneous games and late simultaneous VAR calls = madness
The drama was removed from the rankings later in Group B when we saw two huge VAR calls at the same time: one that gave Iran a penalty against Portugal (which was converted for a 1-1 draw). ) and one who equalized Spain The back heel of Iago Aspas plays in a 2-2 draw against Morocco. This sudden turning allowed Spain to win the group in front of Portugal and even gave Iran a late chance to win the match – and the group! – but a last-minute shot from the Iranians eventually hit the net.
It's worth noting that VAR got the better of these two calls, but there will be a lot of debate as to whether VAR was cheated when Cristiano Ronaldo received a yellow card instead of a red card in the second half.
• Spain was as disappointing as Morocco was impressive
Spain was unusually poor in the back Monday: Gerard Piqué could have taken a red card for a sliding tackle at two feet early in the game. And shortly after, a mix between Sergio Ramos and Andrés Iniesta allowed Khalid Boutaib to free himself and give the advantage to Morocco. (Ramos and Pique, two of the most revered central defenders of the game, have been wildly up and down in Russia.)
Moroccans must be included in a group of the best World Cup teams to be eliminated after two games. They deserved to beat Spain on the head of Youssef En Nesyri, and one can only wonder what could have happened if Morocco had finished better earlier in the tournament.
• Uruguay is always ready to do a deep race
I had Uruguay in semi-final in my predictions before the tournament, and my feeling remains unchanged after Celeste grabbed all nine points (an easy to recognize) Group A. The Uruguayans took improved in each game and released the production of the veteran nucleus of Luis Suárez, Edinson Cavani, Diego Godín and Fernando Muslera. Then there are a multitude of younger options that can make a difference. Faced with Russia, it is Diego Laxalt, who mistreated Igor Smolnikov in two yellow cards and who shot the blow on the second goal of Uruguay, which resulted in a goal against his side on Denis Cheryshev.
• Russia has slipped today, but do not write them yet
You had the feeling that the hosts would regress to the average after the euphoria of two consecutive wins to start the tournament (in perhaps the easiest World Cup group ever). But before saying: "It was the real Russia", keep in mind that the Russians played with 10 men for most of the match and withdrew without their best player, Aleksandr Golovin, for prevent it from taking a yellow card.
The Russians will be neglected in their match against Spain in the round of 16, but remember where it will take place: the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, where home support will probably be huge. In November, Russia held Spain to a 3-3 draw in a friendly match in St. Petersburg, and although the stakes and the stage are clearly different, it's an experience on which the hosts can shoot. Russia has already had a "successful" World Cup in surviving the group. But he will be motivated to do more than that.
• I will miss the simultaneous group finals with a 48-team tournament
How many dramatic moments have we seen over the years thanks to the final simultaneous group format? Well, they will disappear once FIFA adopts a World Cup format of 48 teams in 2026 with 16 groups of three teams each.
It's a shame, and I hope that FIFA will come back on this idea.
Grant Wahl covered football for 22 years at Sports Illustrated. His new book, Masters of Modern Soccer, details the profession of position by position. You can order it here.
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