Cristiano Ronaldo scored his fourth goal of the World Cup on Wednesday as Portugal beat Morocco 1-0, condemning the north African team to an early exit while 2010 champions Spain beat Iran 1-0 in the other Group D tie.
The five-time world player of the year netted with an early header to go with the hat-trick he scored to rescue the European champions against Spain in their tournament opener.
The Real Madrid player, who won his fifth Champions League crown last month, now has 85 international goals – a record for a European player.
“I’m happy I scored the goal but the most important thing is that we won the game. We have to think match by match in order to progress,” he said.
Disappointed Morocco coach Herve Renard said his side could take pride from their performances in Russia despite being out of the running to qualify for the knockout stages.
“We qualified for a World Cup after 20 years and we’ve showed that we can play football,” he said. “We do play football.”
In the later match in Group B, Spain head to Kazan to face Iran, still counting the cost of a chaotic run-up to the tournament during which Julen Lopetegui was sensationally sacked just two days before they opened their campaign.
Former international defender Fernando Hierro is now at the helm and has the job of steadying the ship and steering Andres Iniesta and his teammates into the last 16.
“It’s a crucial match that will determine our World Cup destiny,” said midfielder Isco of the Iran showdown.
“We want to score from the opening minute, even though that won’t be easy.”
Iran kicked off their campaign with a 1-0 win against Morocco, thanks to a late own goal by Aziz Bouhaddouz, piling the pressure on Spain at Kazan Arena.
Iran’s opening victory sparked celebrations in the streets of Tehran and throughout the Islamic republic.
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