SPORT Saturday 16 June 2018 PAGEE | 19 PAGESPAGE | 20-21 Coach expectsxpects ArgentinaArgen seek Salah too pplaylay MMessiessi magic against RRussiaussia agaagainstin Iceland Cristiano Ronaldo scores their third goal during yesterday’s match. PORTUGAL SPAIN 3 3 Ronaldo - 4' PEN 24' - Diego Costa Ronaldo - 44' 55' - Diego Costa Ronaldo - 88' 58' - Nacho Hat-trick hero Ronaldo saves Portugal in Sochi thriller Portugal’s forward Cristiano Ronaldo AFP Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates after scoring scores three goals his third goal during the SOCHI: Cristiano Ronaldo Russia 2018 World Cup scored a stunning hat-trick as as Portugal snatch a Group B match against Portugal snatched a 3-3 draw Spain at the Fisht Stadium with Spain in a World Cup 3-3 draw with Spain in Sochi yesterday. classic yesterday. Real Madrid star Ronaldo YESTERDAY'S RESULTS crashed in an 88th minute free- nology showed it was not in. kick to snatch a point for Por- With Andres Iniesta, Isco GROUP A tugal after a second-half goal and David Silva pulling the EGYPT 0-1 URUGUAY from Nacho put the Spaniards strings, Spain were on top, but 3-2 ahead. Portugal went back in front just GROUP B Ronaldo’s late equaliser as half-time approached. capped a storming encounter Goncalo Guedes teed up his MOROCCO 0-1 IRAN which came after a chaotic few captain Ronaldo, whose shot days which saw Spain coach from 20 yards was straight at GROUP B Julen Lopetegui sacked and David De Gea, but the Man- PORTUGAL 3-3 SPAIN Fernando Hierro appointed as chester United goalkeeper his replacement. could only help it on its way. TODAY'S FIXTURES Earlier, Ronaldo had twice It looked like Ronaldo’s put the European champions first-half efforts might be in GROUP C in front only for Diego Costa to vain, as Spain regrouped at the bring Spain level on each interval and drew level 10 Kazan Arena, Kazan Spain’s forward Diego Costa (left) scores their second goal against Portugal yesterday. FRANCE vs AUSTRALIA occasion on a steamy night on minutes into the second half 1.00pm Russia’s Black Sea coast. with a textbook set-piece But then Ronaldo stepped World Cup finals goal tally, and right-back with Dani Carvajal ball, before breaking into the counter. GROUP D up to send his free-kick from made history by scoring at an not fit. box and planting a low shot A free-kick floated into the Spartak Stadium, Moscow 25 yards up over the wall and eighth consecutive major tour- Hierro, who cut an ani- into the bottom corner. area was headed back across ARGENTINA vs ICELAND into the net, as the Iberian nament going back to Euro mated figure as he stood on the The Portugal players were the face of goal by Sergio Bus- 4.00pm neighbours settled for a point 2004, when he was still a touchline with his sleeves furious that no foul was given quets and Costa was there to apiece in this Group B teenager. rolled up, must have wondered as Costa led with his forearm turn it in. Three minutes after GROUP C encounter. It was typical of the now at that point what he had let into the challenge on Pepe, but that, Nacho’s glorious effort Mordovia Arena, Saransk It was a remarkable signal 33-year-old to take the head- himself in for. the officials let the goal stand from 22 yards made it 3-2, his PERU vs DENMARK of intent from the current lines after news from the Spain Yet Spain responded well without feeling the need to call half-volley curling into the net 7.00pm Ballon d’Or winner, who had camp had dominated the build- and had the better of the game, on the Video Assistant Referee. off the left-hand post. GROUP D never made a serious impact up to this game. as they drew level for the first Spain then thought they That looked to be that, but Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad in any of his previous three The evening had started in time in the 24th minute via a had taken the lead as Isco Ronaldo had the last word, and CROATIA vs NIGERIA World Cups, only managing to style for Ronaldo, as he scored trademark piece of centre- smashed in a shot that Morocco -- beaten 1-0 by Iran 10.00pm score one goal in each. a fourth-minute penalty after forward play by Costa. bounced down onto the line earlier on Friday -- will not In one night the Real going down in the box under a He left Pepe on the floor as off the underside of the bar, look forward to facing him in Madrid superstar doubled his foul from Nacho, playing at the pair challenged for a high yet this time goal-line tech- their next game. 18 SPORT SATURDAY 16 JUNE 2018 FIFA probes empty seats in Yekaterinburg AP it wasn’t very pleasant,” regional sports minister Leonid Rapoport told YEKATERINBURG: More than 5,000 Russia’s RIA Novosti state news people with tickets skipped agency. Uruguay’s 1-0 win over Egypt in “We thought Salah would play.” Yekaterinburg yesterday, the worst- Yekaterinburg is the furthest east attended World Cup game in eight of Russia’s 11 host cities and is about years. 1,400 kilometers (880 miles) east of FIFA said it is investigating why, Moscow in the Ural Mountains, which with “no-shows” one of the factors. are traditionally considered the Pockets of orange seats were border between Europe and Asia. clearly visible in the lower tiers of FIFA records show the last World the Yekaterinburg Arena, which has Cup match with a smaller crowd was a 33,061 capacity for World Cup Paraguay’s 2-0 win over Slovakia in games. The temporary stands behind South Africa in 2010, which attracted the goals for Russian fans appeared 26,643 fans. to be fuller. Five days before that game, FIFA said it allocated 32,278 23,871 attended a 1-1 draw between tickets and the official attendance New Zealand and Slovakia, the General view of Empty seats during the was 27,015 for the 5 p.m. kickoff. smallest number recorded for any World Cup Group A match between Egypt forward Mohamed Salah didn’t World Cup game this century. play in the game because of a At the last World Cup in Brazil, Egypt and Uruguay at the Ekaterinburg shoulder injury. no game had fewer than 37,000 Arena, Yekaterinburg, Russia, yesterday “There were some bald spots and people in the crowd. Saudis to hold players ‘accountable’ for Cup drubbing against Russia AFP Alongside the goalkeeper, blasted the “Green Falcons” for Saudi Arabia’s midfielder Taisir Al-Jassim controls Ezzat named two other their humiliating defeat. RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s sports the ball during the Russia 2018 World Cup Group players -- defender Omar “Falcons brought down to authorities threatened yesterday A match against Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium Hosawi and striker earth”, read a headline in the to hold members of the national in Moscow on Thursday. Mohammed al-Sahlawi -- English-language Arab News, a football team “accountable” after without specifying what Saudi daily, quoting fans’ dismay their crushing defeat against action would be taken. over the poor showing. hosts Russia in the opening Saudi sports authority chief “The bear eats the falcons”, match of the World Cup. Turki al-Sheikh, who is leading said Kuwaiti newspaper al-Anba, Russia defied expectations the kingdom’s multi-billion while the Oman Daily called the as the lowest-ranked side in the dollar push for global footballing defeat “the peak of disap- tournament by thrashing Saudi influence, said he took “full pointment” for Arab fans. Arabia 5-0 in front of an ecstatic responsibility” for the defeat. Privately-owned Egyptian home crowd in Moscow on But he also lashed out at the daily Al-Masry Al-Youm decried Thursday. players. the “painful fall of Saudi Arabia”. The match was attended by “We did everything for This year is the first World Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince them... we provided them the Cup finals tournament Saudi Mohammed bin Salman, who sat best coaching staff,” Sheikh said Arabia has reached since 2006. a couple of seats away from in a video posted on Twitter. Football’s global governing body Russian President Vladimir “Let no-one tell me FIFA last week ranked the team Putin. (Argentinian coach Juan 67th in the world, ahead of “The result was disap- Antonio) Pizzi is not a known Russia in 70th. pointing and unsatisfactory,” coach. But these are our Head coach Pizzi took over Adel Ezzat, president of the Saudi players. They did not do even the Saudi team in November last Football Federation, told Al- five percent of what was year after the football federation Arabiya television yesterday. Al-Mayouf would be held so they could rise to the occasion, because of fitness, but errors in required of them. This is a sacked Edgardo Bauza, a fellow A “number of players” accountable, he added. Ezzat said. passing the ball, technical reality that we should admit.” Argentinian who had only been including goalkeeper Abdullah The team had been trained “The collapse was not errors,” he added. Regional Arab media also in charge for two months. Sacked Lopetegui Russia’s Cheryshev erases years of gets behind Spain misfortune with spectacular display AFP SOCHI, RUSSIA: Julen Lopetegui REUTERS the area before smashing the (pictured) has given his backing to Spain ball into the roof of the net for at the World Cup, despite being fired as MOSCOW: Russia winger Russia’s second goal of the coach just 48 hours before their opening Denis Cheryshev has had a game.