Portugal Advances to Knockout Stage after Draw with Iran

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo hardly ever misses a penalty kick but did just that as Iran and Portugal met for its Group B match. Ending in a draw, it was enough for Portugal to finish in second place and advance to the knockout stage.

While Ronaldo’s missed shot cost Portugal a first place finish in Group B, it might have been different if it were not for Ricardo Quaresma. Playing his first start in a World Cup, he scored after a shot that sent the ball over the heads of the Iranian defenders and over the top of goaltender Ali Beiranvand.

Iran tied the match after earning a penalty kick when the ball came in contact with a Portuguese players arm. The game tied 1-1 saw neither scoring in stoppage time. Portugal will next face off against Uruguay on Monday and are seen as the underdogs against the South American team.

For sports bettors, it will be a highly anticipated match and one that sports betting sites such as Betway Sportsbook will be listing favourable odds, especially for Canadian players looking to place bets on the match.

Speaking post-game about Ronaldo’s missed penalty kick, Fernando Santos, the coach for Portugal said,

“The conclusion and the most important thing is we’re going to continue playing. We had a strong opponent.”

Santos added that Portugal was on top of the game until Ronaldo’s penalty kick stating,

“We didn’t make it. It wasn’t perfect, but that’s football. We did what was expected and now we have to settle down and think about Uruguay.”

Iran’s Karim Ansarifard scored its only goal, but it was too little too late and not enough for them to advance as a win was needed, not a draw. Even with valiant efforts by Ansarifard slate in the match, he was not able to get past the Portuguese defenders. Another attempt by Mehdi Taremi saw Iranian fans disappointed as they watch the ball bounce off the side of the net.

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Portugal earned a penalty in the second half after Morteza Pouraliganji was hit with an elbow to the face. Initially waved off, it was overturned after a video review. Speaking about the incident, a frustrated Karim Ansarifard said,

“Elbow is a red card in the rules.”The decisions, they must be clear for everybody, for the people. Everybody agrees that VAR is not going well. That’s the reality. There are a lot of complaints.”

Quaresma joins Cristiano as the only other Portuguese player to score in three games. At the age of 34, he is also the older to score in the World Cup. The Portuguese player has earned nine goals in international play during 78 appearances. Considering he was classified as a substitute and only played for twenty minutes during the first two Portugal games, today’s performed was one that saw him raise his arms in celebration.

After the match, Quaresma said,

“I was a bit lucky with the goal. Most importantly, we fulfilled our objective and we’re looking forward to the next round.”

Cristiano Ronaldo was all smiles as he passed reporters but did not reply to any questions asked. While his performance has been excellent, he has failed to score in six penalty kicks. Either way, Ronaldo has been instrumental in getting Portugal to the knock out stage, and you can’t fault him for that.

For Iran, this is another defeat that has seen them eliminated for advancing. After five World Cup appearances, they have not advanced once, and the defeat was evident as the whistle blew.