World Cup group B: Spain and Portugal through but Iran miss out
Group B final standings and results
A dramatic final night in group B saw Spain and Portugal secure their places in the World Cup last-16 while Iran missed out.
Spain’s 2-2 draw with Morocco means they finish top of group B and will play the host nation Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on 1 July.
Portugal drew 1-1 with Iran to claim second spot in group B and will face group A winners Uruguay in the round of 16 on 30 June at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi.
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Iran finished third in the group and would have gone through had they beaten Portugal. After the 1-1 draw winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh told the BBC: “It’s such a big disappointment for us. We created some chances but unfortunately we didn’t score. We had a big chance at the end of the game, we could have scored and won it. As everyone has seen, we did our best to win this game but we missed some chances.”
World Cup group B results and final standings
- Morocco 0 Iran 1
- Portugal 3 Spain 3
- Portugal 1 Morocco 0
- Iran 0 Spain 1
- Spain 2 Morocco 2
- Iran 1 Portugal 1
Team profiles and squads
Portugal
- Head coach: Fernando Santos
- Fifa ranking: 4
- Number of World Cup appearances: six
- Best finish: third place in 1966
- Player to watch: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Portugal World Cup results
- Portugal 3 Spain 3
- Portugal 1 Morocco 0
- Iran 1 Portugal 1
Portugal 23-man squad
- Goalkeepers: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Beto (Goztepe), Rui Patricio (Sporting Lisbon)
- Defenders: Bruno Alves (Rangers), Cedric Soares (Southampton), Jose Fonte (Dalian Yifang), Mario Rui (Napoli), Pepe (Besiktas), Raphael Guerreiro (Borussia Dortmund), Ricardo Pereira (Porto), Ruben Dias (Benfica)
- Midfielders: Adrien Silva (Leicester), Bruno Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon), Joao Mario (West Ham), Joao Moutinho (Monaco), Manuel Fernandes (Lokomotiv Moscow), William Carvalho (Sporting)
- Forwards: Andre Silva (AC Milan), Bernardo Silva (Manchester City), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Gelson Martins (Sporting Lisbon), Goncalo Guedes (Valencia), Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)
Spain
- Head coach: Fernando Hierro
- Fifa ranking: 8
- Number of World Cup appearances: 14
- Best finish: winners in 2010
- Player to watch: Sergio Ramos (Spain)
Spain World Cup results
- Portugal 3 Spain 3
- Iran 0 Spain 1
- Spain 2 Morocco 2
Spain 23-man squad
- Goalkeepers: Pepe Reina (Napoli), David de Gea (Manchester United), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Athletic Bilbao)
- Defenders: Nacho Fernandez (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), Gerard Pique (Barcelona), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Alvaro Odriozola (Real Sociedad), Nacho Monreal (Arsenal), Cesar Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
- Midfielders: Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Saul Niguez (Atletico Madrid), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Isco (Real Madrid), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich), David Silva (Manchester City)
- Forwards: Iago Aspas (Celta Vigo), Rodrigo (Valencia), Diego Costa (Atletico Madrid), Lucas Vazquez (Real Madrid)
Morocco
- Head coach: Herve Renard
- Fifa ranking: 42
- Number of World Cup appearances: four
- Best finish: round of 16 in 1986
- Player to watch: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus)
Morocco World Cup results
- Morocco 0 Iran 1
- Portugal 1 Morocco 0
- Spain 2 Morocco 2
Morocco 23-man squad
- Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui (Numancia), Yassine Bounou (Girona), Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti (Ittihad Tanger)
- Defenders: Mehdi Benatia (Juventus), Romain Saiss (Wolves), Manuel Da Costa (Istanbul Basaksehir), Nabil Dirar (Fenerbahce), Achraf Hakimi (Real Madrid), Hamza Mendyl (Lille)
- Midfielders: M’barek Boussoufa (Al Jazira), Karim El Ahmadi (Feyenoord), Youssef Ait Bennasser (Caen), Sofyan Amrabat (Feyenoord), Younes Belhanda (Galatasaray), Faycal Fajr (Getafe), Amine Harit (Schalke)
- Forwards: Khalid Boutaib (Malatyaspor), Aziz Bouhaddouz (St Pauli), Ayoub El Kaabi (Renaissance Berkane), Nordin Amrabat (Leganes), Mehdi Carcela (Standard Liege), Hakim Ziyech (Ajax), Youssef En Nesyri (Malaga)
Iran
- Head coach: Carlos Queiroz
- Fifa ranking: 36
- Number of World Cup appearances: four
- Best finish: first stage in 1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014
- Player to watch: Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan)
Iran World Cup results
- Morocco 0 Iran 1
- Iran 0 Spain 1
- Iran 1 Portugal 1
Iran 23-man squad
- Goalkeepers: Alireza Beiranvand (Persepolis), Rashid Mazaheri (Zob Ahan), Amir Abedzadeh (Maritimo)
- Defenders: Majid Hosseini (Esteghlal), Ramin Rezaeian (Ostende), Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh (Padideh), Morteza Pouraliganji (Alsaad), Pejman Montazeri (Esteghlal), Milad Mohammadi (Akhmat Grozny), Roozbeh Cheshmi (Esteghlal)
- Midfielders: Saeid Ezatolahi (Amkar Perm), Masoud Shojaei (AEK Athens), Mehdi Torabi (Saipa), Omid Ebrahimi (Esteghlal), Ehsan Haji Safi (Olympiacos), Karim Ansarifard (Olympiacos), Vahid Amiri (Persepolis)
- Forwards: Alireza Jahanbakhsh (AZ Alkmaar), Mehdi Taremi (Al Gharafa), Sardar Azmoun (Rubin Kazan), Reza Ghoochannejhad (Heerenveen), Saman Ghoddos (Ostersunds), Ashkan Dejagah (Nottingham Forest)
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