It was one of the most talked about matchups of the group stage. And we got one of the most entertaining World Cup matches in recent memory. In Group B, Spain and Portugal played out a wild six-goal thriller, with the teams drawing 3-3. Spain overcame a 2-1 deficit to take the lead in the second half before Cristiano Ronaldo completed his hat trick with a crazy late free-kick goal.
Here's how it went down.
Just four minutes into the game, Ronaldo tricked the referee into awarding a penalty kick on a non-foul from Nacho, and he put it away:
Cristiano Ronaldo gets the opener!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
He draws the penalty and buries it to give Portugal an early 1-0 lead against Spain. #PORESP pic.twitter.com/P08bLoLcKV
Then 20 minutes later, Spain drew level with an absolutely wonderful goal from Diego Costa, who made some moves and found some space for a low rifle:
Diego Costa does it himself to pull Spain level! pic.twitter.com/7hoyfaHEyj
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
Then again, 20 minutes later, it was Ronaldo again, who put a shot on frame that David De Gea could not handle, with the first major goalkeeper blunder of the World Cup:
David de Gea is going to want that one back 🙈 pic.twitter.com/hqjFQtWbOJ
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
But again Spain had an answer. Ten minutes into the second half, it was Costa again, finishing off a beautifully-executed set piece in front of goal:
Another one for Diego Costa!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
Spain's training-ground free kick ends up in the back of the net thanks to Busquets and Costa. 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/lpEVcJALe5
Then, another quick punch. As Spain was dominating, it got another goal from Nacho who produced a delicious hit into the corner off the post three minutes later:
UNBELIEVABLE STRIKE FROM NACHO! 😱
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
The defender makes up for his early mistake with a beauty to put Spain ahead 3-2. pic.twitter.com/r6Zokn9mQ5
But the last laugh would go to Ronaldo. Becoming the oldest player to score a hat trick in World Cup history, the 33-year-old got the equalizer in the 87th minute with an out-of-this-world free kick that left De Gea frozen:
Take a bow, Cristiano Ronaldo. 🙌 pic.twitter.com/pJwSByuz5y
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 15, 2018
The soccer gods smile down upon us, my friends. What a wild 90 minutes.
And, I can't believe as I'm writing this, but Iran is in first place in Group B with three points. What a world. And so far, what a World Cup.
Relive Spain vs. Portugal
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