Second day of the 2018 Russia World Cup

Eight goals of different types (one of them own goal), a hat-trick, three late goals in each match, eight yellow card bookings, and the most outstanding match of the tournament so far were the highlights of the second day of the 2018 Russia World Cup.

The most outstanding player of this second matchday was Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, with a hat-trick.

It is also worth noting that what made this day more exciting was that in the three matches played on Friday, the final score was not defined until after the 88th minute in each of them.

The first match in Group A ended early in the morning, with the match between Egypt and Uruguay in Ekaterinburg. The match remained goalless until the 88th minute, with a slight advantage of 57% possession against 43% in favor of the South Americans.

But after a run down the right wing by Carlos Sánchez, who had entered the field at the 58th minute, defender José María Giménez Josema rose to receive a cross and, in the tradition of many Uruguayan goals, broke the deadlock with a powerful header. This sealed the first Uruguayan victory in this World Cup. According to DataFactory, the player of the match was Uruguayan defender Giménez, with a score of 9.00 out of 10.

Something almost similar would happen three hours later, when Morocco and Iran faced each other in the opening match of Group B in St. Petersburg.

Although the clock already marked 90 minutes, there were still the six minutes of added time indicated by Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir to be played. And in the last 116 seconds, after a free kick from the left taken by Ehsan Haji Safi, Aziz Bohaddouz, who had entered the field at the 77th minute, tried to clear the ball but ended up scoring an own goal. It was a firm header, or "palomita" as it is called, that put the ball into his own net. According to DataFactory, the player of the match was Iranian goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand, with 7.1 points.

There were no previous records of previous encounters between these teams, as the only time they were supposed to play, on January 5, 2017 in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, the friendly match was canceled. Also, on May 1, 2018, both countries severed diplomatic relations due to Iran's alleged support for the Sahrawi independence movement Polisario Front.

And in the most anticipated match of this second day of the World Cup, between Spain and Portugal, which closed Group B in Sochi, and which brought the debut of the new Spanish coach (Fernando Hierro), there was everything, from changes in the winning side of the score three times, to the first use of the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at the World Cup, in the goal by Diego Costa that temporarily leveled the score 1-1.

There were six goals and half of them were scored by a single player, Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who not only sealed each of them, but also played a key role in two of those goals (from set pieces), as in the first goal, Nacho was fouled inside the box and the Italian referee Gianluca Rocchi awarded a penalty that was scored by Ronaldo himself. In the third goal, the Portuguese striker was fouled by Piqué outside the box, and again Ronaldo took the free-kick to beat Spanish goalkeeper David De Gea for the third time, in the 88th minute. According to DataFactory, the player of the match was Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo, with 10 points.

With the completion of the first matchday in Groups A and B, thirteen goals have been scored in four matches, with an average of one goal every 27 minutes and 1 second. (D)