FIFA World Cup 2018 | Group B: Spain & Portugal Revive Rivalry
Iran and Morocco are the other two teams in the group who might spoil the party for Spain and Portugal.
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One of the most straight forward groups in this year’s competition. Spain and Portugal will square off to prove their supremacy in the group and are expected to go through comfortably. Until and unless Iran and Morocco have other plans and decide to spoil the party for the other teams.
Most probably this will be Ronaldo’s last World Cup, so before he hangs his boot he will surely want to have a last shot at glory. With three Champions League title in the last four years and to top that off with European Championship glory in 2016, all eyes will be on the Real Madrid striker as Portugal have never won a World Cup. Under Portuguese legend Eusebio, the side finished third in 1966, their best finishes.
On a personal level also, Ronaldo would like to redeem himself in this edition of the tournament. He has managed to score just one goal in each World Cup since 2006.
Winners of three major tournaments, prior to their early exit from the 2014 World Cup, Spain will also be looking for redemption this time around. A mix of fresh talent Isco, David de Gea, Marco Asensio and veterans of the old guard Andres Iniesta, David Silva and Gerard Pique make the ‘La Roja’ a formidable threat. Their inexperienced attack, apart from Diego Costa, may spell danger for them but their sturdy defence and midfield give them every chance to do well in Russia.
Apart from the Iberian cousins, Morocco and Iran would also love to make their presence felt.
The Iran national team topped their qualification group and didn’t lose a single match despite being in a group alongside South Korea and 2022 World Cup hosts Qatar.
Morocco, on the other hand, qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 20 years. They were the first African team to win a group at the World Cup, which they did in 1986, finishing ahead of Portugal, Poland, and England. They were also the first African team to make it to the second round, barely losing to eventual runners-up West Germany 1–0 in 1986.
The second Group B clash between Spain and Portugal on the second day of the competition at the Mordovia Arena in Saransk will be one of the most exciting matches to look forward in this World Cup.
With a history of rivalry between the two neighbours, it would be interesting to watch Ronaldo compete against many of his Real Madrid teammates, especially after they won the Champions League together for the third time, less than month back.
Historically, Spain has got the better off Portugal on their way to winning their last two major tournaments.
Squad:
Spain's 23-man final squad: David de Gea, Pepe Reina, Kepa Arrizabalaga; Dani Carvajal, Alvaro Odriozola, Gerard Pique, Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Cesar Azpilicueta, Jordi Alba, Nacho Monreal; Sergio Busquets, Saul Niquez, Koke, Thiago Alcantara, Andres Iniesta, David Silva; Isco, Marcio Asensio, Lucas Vazquez, Iago Aspas, Rodrigo, Diego Costa
Portugal's 23-man final squad: Anthony Lopes, Beto, Rui Patricio, Bruno Alves, Cedric Soares, Jose Fonte, Mario Rui, Pepe, Raphael Guerreiro, Ricardo Pereira, Ruben Dias, Adrien Silva, Bruno Fernandes, Joao Mario, Joao Moutinho, Manuel Fernandes, William Carvalho, Andre Silva, Bernardo Silva, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gelson Martins, Goncalo Guedes, Ricardo Quaresma
Morocco's World Cup 2018 squad: Mounir El Kajoui, Yassine Bounou, Ahmad Reda Tagnaouti, Mehdi Benatia, Romain Saiss, Manuel Da Costa, Badr Benoun, Nabil Dirar, Achraf Hakimi, Hamza Mendyl; M'bark Boussoufa, Karim El Ahmadi, Youssef Ait Bennasser, Sofyan Amrabat, Younes Belhanda, Faycal Fajr, Amine Harit; Khalid Boutaib, Aziz Bouhaddouz, Ayoub El Kaabi, Nordin Amrabat, Mehdi Carcela, Hakim Ziyech
Iran's 35-man preliminary squad: Alireza Beiranvand, Seyed Hossein Hosseini, Rashid Mazaheri, Amir Abedzadeh; Ramin Rezaeian, Voria Ghafouri, Steven Beitashour, Seyed Jalal Hosseini, Mohammad Reza Khanzadeh, Morteza Pouraliganji, Mohammad Ansari, Pejman Montazeri, Seyed Majid Hosseini, Milad Mohammadi, Omid Norafkan, Saeid AGhaei, Roozbeh Cheshmi; Saeid Ezatolahi, Masoud Shojaei, Ahmad Abdolahzadeh, Saman Ghoddos, Mahdi Torabi, Ashkan Dejagah, Omid Ebrahimi, Ehsan Hajsafi, Ali Karimi, Soroush Rafiei, Ali Gholizadeh, Vahid Amiri; Alireza Jahanbakhsh, Karim Ansarifard, Mahdi Taremi, Sardar Azmoun, Reza Ghoochannejhad, Kaveh Rezaei
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