Five things we learned from matchday 3 in Group B

When Group B at this summer’s World Cup, there were two teams everyone expected to qualify, whilst the other two were expected to struggle horribly. Things turned out as many had predicted – but only halfway. Both Portugal and Spain ended up as Group B’s top two sides, although Morocco and Iran showed they weren’t just there to make up the numbers. And now the European duo will face Uruguay and hosts Russia in the round of 16 for a coveted spot in the quarter-finals.

Here are five interesting observations from matchday 3 in Group B.

1. Both Iran and Morocco are stronger sides than many gave them credit for

Morocco was already eliminated by the time they took on Spain in matchday 3, but given how the North African side faced the 2010 World Cup winners, one would have thought that Herve Renard’s squad were fighting for a spot in the round of 16. The North African side did not look like the last-placed team in Group B and put on a great showing against La Furia Roja, who appeared to be shocked with the intensity and drive of their already-eliminated opponents.

Were it not for VAR ruling in Spain’s favor, they would have won that game. The fact that they scored two against the European giants shows that had Morocco been in a more favorable group, they could have progressed, perhaps.

As for Iran, they, too, put on a solid show, and Team Melli can certainly be proud of their performance in Group B. Carlos Queiroz’s side weren’t squashed and pummeled like some would have expected, and proved to be a stern test for both Portugal and Spain. Against Spain, they were really unfortunate not to see some decisions go in their favor, as they actually saw a goal ruled out, and against Portugal, they were literally inches away from eliminating Cristiano Ronaldo and Co. from the tournament entirely.

Unfortunately, there’s no prize for effort – only points count – but if there were, both Morocco and Iran would be deserved recipients. The two teams will use this as a learning experience and can exit this competition with their heads held high, as they were obvious underdogs from the outset but showed the bigger sides they, too, can pack a punch.

2. Spain has appeared far from convincing so far

The abrupt managerial change two days prior to the tournament naturally won’t help matters for Spain, who opened their Group B campaign with a three-all draw against Portugal. But they also were far from impressive against Iran, where they benefited from decisions going in their favor to avoid a draw, and most significant, against Morocco.

Iago Aspas’s late goal salvaged a point for them, but was it not for VAR they would have lost that fixture. Fortunately, they did enough to top their group and avoid Uruguay, with a much more favorable draw in Russia coming up in the round of 16. However, once they, as expected, beat Russia, they will face Denmark or a high-flying Croatia side. La Furia Roja will really need to step it up, and they have a good chance to show the world they deserve to be considered as tournament favorites against Russia this weekend.

3. VAR strikes again

VAR has proved to be a major talking point this summer, and by the looks of it, it’s not going to change. Depending on what team one supports, one will probably be happy with the new technology’s performance, but if one is a Morocco or Iran fan, one certainly won’t be. In Iran’s case, they were twice on the wrong side of both VAR and the referee against Portugal. The spot-kick that was given to Cristiano Ronaldo, well, Team Melli can’t complain, but Portugal certainly has a good case when Iran was gifted a penalty over something that was not a handball by any stretch of the world.

Then Cristiano Ronaldo’s elbow late in the second half was clearly an unnecessarily aggressive action, but despite VAR catching it, the Real Madrid superstar was given a yellow…which brings us to our next point.

4. Different strokes for different folks?

Cristiano Ronaldo deserved a red for his elbow. It was unnecessary and deliberate, and fans have seen players sent off for this in leagues around the world. However, despite his act of aggression during a game that was very frustrating for him, he managed to stay on the pitch with a simple yellow card. That’s after the referee had a chance to view the incident via VAR.

Over in the Morocco game, Gerard Pique’s reckless two-footed tackle would have been a straight red in any other game. And with VAR, the referee could have been advised of it, but the Barcelona man stayed on the pitch – without even receiving a yellow card. This will certainly lead people to wonder if the proverbial statement “different strokes for different folks” applies here. Iran’s coach Carlos Queiroz absolutely thinks so, and there are plenty of others who would agree.

5. Win one match and you’re through…but both Spain and Portugal can count themselves lucky

Fortune definitely favored the European duo throughout this contest, from officiating decisions going their way, to their opponents not being able to convert good chances. Neither side was particularly inspired after the highly entertaining 3-3 draw, but they got the job done, picking up vital wins in order to set themselves apart from the teams who finished in the bottom two in Group B. Portugal, however, face a stern test against Uruguay, and whilst Spain’s path to the quarter-finals is much easier, had things turned out a tad different, one (or both) of these two teams could have actually been on the early flight home.