A late goal by Karim Ansarifard cancelled Ricardo Quaresma’s stunning goal in the first half, but the wonderful match came to a 1-1 draw. Iran were brilliant throughout the match to limit Ronaldo and company from creating chances up front. Iran goalkeeper Beiranvand saved a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty in the 53rd minute to keep his side in the hunt but Iran despite displaying character failed to convert their chances in the final third. It is the end of the road for Iran but they will go home with plenty of positives. Portugal, on the other hand, have their task cut out against an in-form Uruguay in the round of 16.
Follow the match updates here:
Portugal 1-1 Iran!
Full-time!
90+4 minute: MISS! Iranian striker nearly had the winning goal there but hits it wide. That was close. What an entertaining game this has turned out to be.
Iran 1-1 Portugal!
90+3 minute: GOAL!! Karim Ansarifard strikes the ball into the top-right corner. Iran equalise.
90+2 minute: PENALTY!! Iran have a golden opportunity to equalise here.
6 minutes of Stoppage time!
89 minute: Free-kick to Portugal. Raphael Guerreiro shoots the ball directly into the hands of the goalkeeper.
84 minute: Substitution for Portugal. Joao Moutinho replaces Joao Mario.
83 minute: Yellow card! Ronaldo gets booked after he brought down Pouraliganji and Referee booked after consulting VAR.
80 minute: Free-kick to Iran after Cedric brings down Amiri. Iran need to make the most of the set-pieces as they are running out of time here.
75 minute: Substitution for Iran. Ezatolahi is replaced by Ansarifard.
72 minute: Iran's Ghoddos hits a long-range shot but the ball misses the target by a whisker. Iran need to create more chances in the final third.
69 minute: Substitution for Portugal. Bernardo Silva replaces Ricardo Quaresma. Substitution for Iran. Ghoddos is in for Jahanbakhsh.
66 minute: Ronaldo cuts a frustrated figure after he attempts a shot from distance but he hits it wide.
64 minute: Yellow card! Portugal's Ricardo Quaresma gets booked.
58 minute: Corner for Iran. The Portuguese defenders clear the ball to safety. Iranians look like a completly different team after that save. Expect a cracker of a match.
56 minute: Substitution for Iran. Milad Mohammadi is in for Hajsafi.
54 minute: Yellow card! Iran's Azmoun gets a yellow card.
53 minute: SAVED!! A. Beiranvand dives to his left to save Ronaldo's shot. What a historic moment for the youngster. Ronaldo joins Messi, the latter had missed a penalty against Iceland.
49 minute: Ronaldo goes down in the penalty box. The Referee initially called for play-on but later called for VAR and reversed his decision. PENALTY.
Second-half is underway!
Ricardo Quaresma’s spectacular late strike in the 45th minute took Portugal to the much-needed lead in the first half. Iran looked brilliant in the midfield and nearly pulled-off a goalless half but Quaresma’s goal shifted the momentum back to Portugal, who hardly created chances as the game progressed. Iran managed to break the Portuguese defence but finished poorly. In the other Group B match, Morocco looked set to stage an upset after Boutaïb's strike in the 14th minute but Isco scored a stunning goal to level the match. Spain 1-1 Morocco at half-time.
Portugal 1-0 Iran!
Half-time!!
3 minutes of Stoppage time!
Portugal 1-0 Iran!
45 minute: GOAL!!! Portugal's Ricardo Quaresma produces a stunning goal into the top left corner. Portugal take the lead.
43 minute: Taremi creates space in the final third from the left flank but Jahanbakhsh could not capitalise. Good effort.
40 minute: Ronaldo attempts a shot from distance but hits it directly into the hands of the goalkeeper. Iran have been brilliant so far.
In the other Group B match, Spain levels Morocco, 1-1
31 minute: Yellow card! Raphael Guerreiro gets booked for a bad sliding tackle. Free-kick to Iran.
Possession
Portugal- 80 percent
Iran- 20 percent
26 minute: Iran are defending deep and have kept Ronaldo under control. Ronaldo has had only 12 touches so far. Spain found it hard to break the Iran defence, Portugal are trying to create space up-front. What a match this is turning out to be.
23 minute: Brilliant play by Iran's Azmoun but fails to find a teammate with his through-ball, Portugal goalkeeper plunges onto the pass. That was close!
20 minute: Iran's Hajsafi draws a foul outside the Portugal box. Free-kick to Iran.
16 minute: Free-kick to Portugal. Ronaldo fires the ball into the Iranian wall. Corner for Portugal.
15 minute: Corner for Portugal. The defence clears the ball but concedes a foul outside the box. This could be costly.
9 minute: Iran goalkeeper Beiranvand and Ezatolahi find themselves in a mix-up but Portugal's Joao Mario fails to capitalise as he skies the ball away from the goal.
6 minute: Iran's Jahanbakhsh opens the Portugal defence from the right flank but Amiri kicks the ball wide. Iran waste an opportunity.
5 minute: Iran intercept a pass in the Portugal half but give away possession in the final third.
3 minute: Ronaldo picks up a pass in the Iranian box but hits the ball directly into the hands of the goalkeeper.
Kick-off
Lineups:
Portugal XI: Rui Patrício, Raphaël Guerreiro, José Fonte, Pepe, Cédric Soares, João Mário, William Carvalho, Adrien Silva, Ricardo Quaresma, Cristiano Ronaldo, André Silva.
Iran XI: A. Beiranvand, E. Hajsafi, M. Hosseini, M. Pouraliganji, R. Rezaeian, S. Ezatolahi, M. Taremi, V. Amiri, O. Ebrahimi, A. Jahanbakhsh, S. Azmoun.
Iran beat Morocco 1-0, after an own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz, in their opening match but went down 0-1 to Spain in a gruelling match against Spain. Portugal, on the other hand, depend heavily on Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the only goal in their second match against Morocco.
Iran Squad:
Goalkeepers: Amir Abedzadeh, Ali Beiranvand, Rashid Mazaheri.
Defenders: Roozbeh Cheshmi, Ehsan Haji Safi, Majid Hosseini, Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, Milad Mohammadi, Pejman Montazeri, Morteza Pouraliganji, Ramin Rezaeian.
Midfielders: Vahid Amiri, Omid Ebrahimi, Saeid Ezatolahi, Masoud Shojaei, Mehdi Torabi.
Forwards: Karim Ansarifard, Sardar Azmoun, Ashkan Dejagah, Saman Ghoddos, Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Mehdi Taremi.
Portugal Squad:
Goalkeepers: Rui Patricio, Beto, Anthony Lopes.
Defenders: Cedric Soares, Ricardo Pereira, Pepe, Jose Fonte, Bruno Alves, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Mario Rui.
Midfielders: Joao Moutinho, Adrien Silva, William Carvalho, Joao Mario, Manuel Fernandes, Bruno Fernandes, Bernardo Silva.
Forwards: Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Quaresma, Goncalo Guedez, Andre Silva, Gelson Martins
