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In a night filled with drama, Spain drew 2-2 with Morocco in their final World Cup Group B encounter at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Monday. The result saw them top their group after Portugal failed to beat Iran as they drew 1-1.
Khalid Boutaib gave Morocco the lead in the first half before Isco equalised just five minutes later. Youssef En-Nesyri then gave the Africans the lead again before substitute Iago Aspas scored a stoppage-time goal (awarded by VAR) in the 91st minute.
Here are the major talking points from the game.
#1 Morocco take an early lead to flip the script on relaxed Spain
If anything, Spain were guilty of being a little too casual when the match kicked off. Fernando Hierro may have asked his players to take it easy to avoid any bookings (lest they prove to be costly mistakes in the next round) but La Furia Roja were far too relaxed.
With nothing to lose, Morocco played a 4-1-4-1 formation with Khalid Boutaib leading the line and both Younes Belhanda and captain Moubarak Boussoufa also stepping forward to press Spain's defence when they had the ball high up the pitch.
The trick worked. A slight miscommunication between Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos saw neither player move towards the ball following a bad touch from the former Barcelona midfielder.
It was all the invitation Boutaib needed and he pounced on the loose ball, left a flailing Ramos behind, and slotted the ball between David De Gea's legs to give Morocco a 1-0 lead.
He almost doubled the lead too from a throw-in that caught Spain napping again but this time De Gea was able to make the save - coincidentally the first save he made in the tournament.
#2 Iniesta and Isco restore normal service with clever movement
Morocco's goal was all Spain needed to be shaken out of their slumber and they soon picked up the pace. When earlier they struggled to find teammates in space with Morocco sitting back, the midfielders soon executed their roles well by moving between the lines to create passing channels.
Using Diego Costa as a fulcrum for an attack, Isco and Andres Iniesta disguised their movements well to throw Morocco's defenders into disarray.
It was 34-year-old Iniesta who made a darting run into the box while Isco hung back. All it needed was the final unselfish touch from Iniesta for Isco to blast the ball into the roof of the net.
This soon became the norm as Spain's midfielders identified the left side as Morocco's weak spot. With Jordi Alba helping them stretch the defence, Iniesta was able to cut in time and again on the left side while Isco prowled around the box.
Had Diego Costa managed to get a foot to a low cross from Iniesta at the end of the half, Spain could have gone into the break with a 2-1 lead.
#3 Morocco double down in the second half
Happy to go away with at least a draw, Morocco decided to sit back in their half and only looked to play on the counter-attack. This was an effective strategy that seemed to work for the quick attacking players from the African side.
Nordin Amrabat was a couple of inches away from scoring one of the goals of the tournament when he let fly from distance on one such play. De Gea was beaten and rooted to the spot as the Manchester United goalkeeper watched the ball sail past him to the top corner - only for the shot to cannon off the bar.
However, De Gea was left vulnerable and rooted to the spot again when Morocco took the lead through a set-piece. A corner kick saw Youssef En-Nesyri rise into the air (above Sergio Ramos) and direct a bullet header goalward to find the back of the net and spark delirious celebrations from their fans.
In defence, Morocco sat back in a 5-4-1 formation to deny Spain any space to work with. Iniesta and Isco continued to graft on the left while David Silva and Thiago Alcantara also tried their luck on the right with a couple of combination plays with Busquets also cutting in to draw players away.
But Spain were left frustrated with Costa's runs in behind the defence also not making any headway for the Spaniards.
#4 Fernando Hierro waits too long to make substitutions
In the first two games against Portugal and Iran, Hierro made Spain's first substitution only in the 70th and 71st minute. In both cases, it was Andres Iniesta - a player no longer capable of playing full-throttle for 90 minutes.
This time, again, Hierro only made changes in the 74th minute - a double change as Marco Asensio and Iago Aspas came on in place of Thiago Alcantara and Diego Costa. Iniesta was left on to see out the game.
Both Costa and Alcantara were clearly struggling to make an impact in the second half and Hierro probably took longer than necessary to make the change.
As soon as Aspas came on, he harried Morocco's defenders when they were on the ball, forcing them to get rid of it quickly and make errors so Spain could win it back and launch a counter-offensive.
And it was Aspas who eventually scored Spain's second with some clever movement from a corner. Spain took a quick corner, Aspas got himself quickly onside and then back-heeled the ball into the back of the net.
VAR took its time after the linesman raised his flag for offside but the goal stood and Spain made it 2-2.
#5 Last-minute VAR drama in both games sees Spain top Group B
For 89 minutes, Portugal were top of the group and were all set to face Group A runners-up Russia in the Round of 16 while Spain were set to face Group A toppers Uruguay in what would have been a tough fixture.
However, when Aspas scored the second goal, at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk, Cedric Soares was deemed to have handled the ball in the box while contesting a header. VAR promptly intervened and informed the referee that it was a penalty and Karim Ansarifard scored to make it 1-1.
This was a tough result for Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo had seen his penalty saved by Alireza Beiranvand. Had that gone in, Portugal would have topped the group.
As the two games saw the full-time whistle blown, both Spain and Portugal finished top of the group with five points each and the same Goal Difference (+1). However, Spain topped the group by virtue of scoring more goals (6 goals to 5) and they will now face Russia.
Round of 16 Fixtures
- Uruguay vs Portugal (30 June)
- Spain vs Russia (1 July)
