World Cup - Matchday 2

Welcome to another WhoReps look at the 2018 World Cup. Today we'll be recapping the second slate of games and looking ahead to tomorrow's matches! Enjoy.
                                            
It was all in danger of slipping away. Underdog Portugal had already given up leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in their opening match against favored Spain, and they now found themselves trailing 3-2 with scant time remaining. They needed a miracle. Fortunately, God wears a Portugal #7. 
 
Having already notched both Portuguese goals in the first half, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up and lofted a beautiful free kick over the Spanish defense and past keeper David De Gea. 3-3. This may go into the books as a tie, but the entire football world won. In a little over 90 minutes, Ronaldo became the oldest ever with a World Cup hat trick, took on one of the deepest sides in the tournament seemingly singlehandedly, and reminded everyone why Portugal will always be a threat as long as he roams the pitch. 
 
Ronaldo's legendary performance overshadowed a two goal game from Spanish striker Diego Costa and a spectacular Nacho strike that gave Spain the lead in the 58th minute. Truly, this was one of the single best World Cup games we have seen in a long time. And it's the goalie De Gea who will be replaying it over and over in his head at night. The normally surehanded Manchester United man let a relatively innocuous Ronaldo shot hit both of his hands and squirt into the net in the first half, and then failed to set up his defense and react properly to that fateful smash at the end.
 
Up north in St. Petersburg, the result was similarly dramatic but significantly more heartbreaking. With Iran and Morocco locked in a defensive slugfest deep into extra time, it seemed sure to end in a classic 0-0 draw. Then, in the 95th minute, Moroccan defender Aziz Bouhaddouz perfectly headed in the ball off a cross, just getting past goalie Munir and into the net. Unfortunately, that net was his own. Iran 1, Morocco 0. Iran's first World Cup victory in twenty years likely spells doom for a fiesty Morocco squad some thought could get out of the group.
 
Saturday features a full slate of games, with every nation from Groups C and D seeing their first action of the tournament. The highlight surely has to be seeing Lionel Messi and Argentina facing off against plucky underdogs Iceland, coming off their stunning quarterfinal appearance at the 2016 Euros that captured the world's attention. The tiny island nation of just 100,000 defied the odds again to qualify for the World Cup, but this isn't a charity. Messi and the Argentinians will be looking to crush Icelandic dreams early after a rocky qualifying period of their own in South America.
 
Stay tuned to WhoReps as we recap the action every weekday!