World Cup rewind: Cristiano Ronaldo has entered the building
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Friday belonged to Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored the 51st hat-trick of his career in a 3-3 draw with Spain after new broke earlier in the day he would be settling tax evasion charges. As great as Ronaldo is, the match was really his first defining individual moment on the international stage.
The first goal came from the spot, though he won the penalty himself with a nice piece of skill, and the second was the result of an awful David de Gea error, but the third — the third was special, a perfectly placed free-kick in the 87th minute to level the game.
The result was something of a disappointment for Spain, who fired their manager, Julen Lopetegui, the day before the tournament, but his replacement, Fernando Hierro, was positive, focusing on the fact his team had come from behind twice before Ronaldo’s free-kick.
Take a bow, Cristiano Ronaldo. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pJwSByuz5y
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
“We feel very proud of the players,” he said. “We have come back and equalized twice so we feel a great commitment and pride.” Hierro was also quick to brush off questions about de Gea, who he said “doesn’t have any doubts about himself.”
The match was a bright spot in an otherwise relatively uninspired day. The early games — Egypt vs. Uruguay and Morocco vs. Iran — both featured last-minute winners, but the preceding minutes didn’t suggest any of the teams will go far.
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Luis Suarez had a particularly bad day, missing several clear opportunities before Jose Gimenez bailed him out. Aziz Bouhaddouz, the Morocco substitute whose own goal handed Iran victory, would presumably have been happy to trade places with the Uruguayan.
The results leave Russia on top of Group A, leading Uruguay on goal difference, and Iran leading Spain and Portugal in Group B. That may not last long, but for now Carlos Queiroz’s side can enjoy what was only the country’s second ever World Cup win.
There will be four games on Saturday, beginning with France vs. Australia at 6 a.m. ET. That’s followed by Argentina vs. Iceland (9 a.m. ET), Peru vs. Denmark (noon ET) and Croatia vs. Nigeria (3 p.m. ET).