World Cup 2018: Best and worst players as Spain beat Iran

Spain had to do it the hard way as the European giants huffed and puffed their way to a slender 1-0 win over Iran.

After Portugal's victory over Morocco, Spain had to respond with a similar result to keep their hopes alive. La Roja did the job in the end but could not deliver a satisfying performance.

Iran on the other hand defended magnificently and kept this Spanish elite attacking unit under wraps for the majority of the game. Costa's goal was a fortuitous one, as a messy attack in the Iranian box led the ball to bounce back off him into the back of the net.

Iran had chances of their own as the Asian side thought they had equalized just six minutes after Costa's goal. But Saeid Ezatolahi's headed effort was ruled offside by VAR. Iran became the first unfortunate country to have its goal ruled out by VAR at the World Cup.

Iran created a number of half chances in the final quarter of the game. But a lack of a killer pass in the final third deprived them of a memorable draw against the mighty Spain. Without further delay, let's take a look at the best and the worst players from Spain's 1-0 win over Iran.

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#5 Best - Diego Costa (Spain)

Costa scored his third goal of the World Cup

The hot-headed striker seemed to be on the verge of losing it on numerous occasions in the first half. He stepped on the Iranian goalkeeper and was agitated by the referee. He also got in a tense clash with Beiranvand. It may have been due to the fact that Costa was hardly involved in anything meaningful in the first half.

Spain enjoyed more than 75 percent of the possession but were unable to break down a six-man Iranian back-line. All of their neat, one-touch passing were not helping them to find a breakthrough. Then came a moment of which Diego Costa is the master.

A half chance was converted into a goal by the mere presence of the Atletico hit-man. He unsettled the Iranian defenders marking him which made them clear the ball hastily. The clearance hit Costa and it bounced off into the back of the net.

Costa has now scored three goals with three shots on target in the World Cup and is proving he is capable of leading the Spanish attack.

#4 Worst - Lucas Vazquez (Spain)

The winger failed to make a difference

Drafted into the side after the 3-3 draw against Portugal, Vazquez was specifically given the role of stretching the Iranian defence on the right flank. Spain knew that Iran would apply a low block and Fernando Hierro hence went in for a traditional winger in Lucas Vazquez to help his side out on the right side.

Spain hoped to get Vazquez wide out which would then give their army of creative midfielders avenue to utilize space left behind by the covering defenders. But Vazquez did nothing of that sort.

The Real Madrid man lacked spark on the night and could not get the better of the Iranian defence. His delivery was sub-par and he was also often seen coming inside to get involved which negated Spain's strategy of using pace and width. He was later taken off for Marco Asensio.

#3 Best - Ramin Rezaeian (Iran)

The fullback defended with all his might

It can be said that out of all the Iranian defenders, Ramin Rezaeian had the toughest job of them all.

Stationed at right back, Rezaeian had his hands full with Jordi Alba rampaging on that flank along with Isco, David Silva and Andres Iniesta taking turns to use the width in creating chances.

But the Ostende defender held his ground well and was never shy of going into tackles. The fullback won 7 duels on the night, made 5 clearances and succeeded in 4/5 tackles. His crossing was also useful whenever Iran got the opportunity to surge forward. Rezaeian made 2 key passes on the night and had a hand in every meaningful Iranian attack.

#2 Worst - Jordi Alba (Spain)

Jordi Alba disappointed

After a good game against Portugal, Spain needed another solid outing from their experienced left back. But Alba looked out of sorts from the word go and was not able to offer anything to his side.

Defensively, he was caught out by Taremi in the opening stages and offensively Alba could not make his overlapping runs due to a deep-lying Iranian defence. With Lucas Vazquez struggling on the right, Spain needed Alba to fire, but the Barcelona man was just not up to the task.

He lost possession in good areas on numerous occasions, and also couldn't create anything from deep or when in a good position. In a game where defensive responsibilities on him were little, Alba failed to make his mark on the other side of the pitch.

#1 Best - Isco (Spain)

Isco disco was in full flow against Iran

In-arguably, Isco was the best player on the field. With Spain's strategy to use the width unable to crack open the Iranian defence, the onus was on their central midfielders to do the task.

Isco continued his good run in a Spain shirt, and looks to be enjoying the free role assigned to him by the management.

The Real Madrid man was seen almost everywhere. Isco dropped deep, joined forces in the box and took on defenders at will. He completed 9 take-ons again Iran - the joint most ever achieved in a World Cup game.

He also had the most touches of the ball with 137 touches and attempted 103 passes with a 92 percent accuracy. Isco made Spain tick and was a joy to watch. The attacker is slowly growing to be Spain's most valuable player.