Fifa World Cup 2018: Day seven

 Spain beat Iran 1-0

KAZAN: Spain team were grateful for a big slice of luck on Wednesday as they overcame a stubborn Iran side to claim a 1-0 win.

Diego Costa scored the only goal for Spain after 54 minutes when he was tackled by Ramin Rezaeian, only for the ball to ricochet back off Costa's shin and into the back of the net.

Uruguay win

Uruguay booked their place in the World Cup knockout stage along with Russia on Wednesday, as Luis Suarez scored the winner on his 100th international appearance in a 1-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in Rostov-on-Don.

The South Americans take on the hosts in their final Group A match on June 25 with top spot on the line, while Egypt and Saudi Arabia have been eliminated after both suffered back-to-back defeats.

Russia and Uruguay will face one of the top two from Group B in the last 16 -- either Portugal, Spain or Iran.

Cristiano Ronaldo leads

Cristiano Ronaldo leads all scorers at the 2018 World Cup after the Portugal star netted his fourth goal of the tournament in the 1-0 group-stage defeat of Morocco on Wednesday.

In his second game of the World Cup, Ronaldo overtook Denis Cheryshev of Russia, who has scored three goals so far.

Morocco out of World Cup race

Moscow-Morocco are out of contention for the World Cup in Russia after Portugal beat the north African side 1-0 in their Group B match on Wednesday.

Cristiano Ronaldo gave the European champions the lead with a header in the fourth minute and Herve Renard´s side could not respond, leaving them with no mathematical chance of reaching the knockout stage.\

Joao Mario took the place of Bruno Fernandes in Portugal's midfield as coach Fernando Santos makes one change for Wednesday's Group B match against Morocco at the World Cup.

Cristiano Ronaldo will again line up alongside Goncalo Guedes in attack as the Real Madrid star seeks to build on his brilliant hat-trick in Portugal's 3-3 draw with Spain in their opening game.

Banned FIFA chief Blatter attends Moscow match

Former FIFA president Sepp Blatter attended a World Cup match in Moscow on Wednesday, saying the tournament in Russia felt like “my World Cup”, but soccer’s world governing body said his presence did not directly violate his ban from football activities.

Iran in U-turn on women in stadiums

Tehran's largest football stadium is to admit thousands of women together with men for the first time since the the Islamic revolution of 1979 as World Cup fever grips Iran for its Wednesday evening group game against Spain.

The decision to throw open the gates of the capital´s 100,000 capacity Azadi Stadium for the landmark 10:30 pm (1800 GMT) live screening comes with Iran topping Group B after its opening game victory against Morocco on Friday.

Ronaldo looms for Morocco

Cristiano Ronaldo trained his sights on Morocco on Wednesday after his stunning hat-trick in Portugal´s World Cup opener, while 2010 winners Spain play Iran with the host nation buzzing from Russia´s unexpected success.

Five-time world player of the year Ronaldo bagged a sublime treble to salvage a 3-3 draw against Spain in Sochi in Russia 2018´s stand-out match so far, the 51st of his glittering career. "I´m very happy, it´s a nice personal record to have, one more in my career," Ronaldo said.

FIFA apologises after plane carrying Saudi team catches fire

The Organizing Committee of the FIFA World Cup 2018 apologized to Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), a day after it was reported that a plane carrying Saudi Arabian team caught fire mid-flight.

In a letter sent to the SAFF, the committee said that the aircraft which caught fire would no longer be used for transportation of teams taking part in the World Cup.

Russian fans elated

Russian fans were elated as the World Cup hosts cruised past Egypt 3-1 in their second game in Group A, virtually booking a place in the knockout stages of the tournament.

Russia is the lowest FIFA ranked side at the event, but two games in they are top of their group with six points and are poised to qualify for the next stage.

The win followed Russia’s 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia in the first game of the tournament.

It is an unexpectedly positive situation for a Russian side that came into this tournament amidst scepticism and pessimism at home.

In other matches on Tuesday, Japan beat 10-man Colombia 2-1 before Poland lost by the same scoreline to Senegal as the pre-tournament favourites to advance from Group H suffered upsets.