Cristiano Ronaldo once more took centre stage but, instead of being Portugal’s matchwinner, this time he was at the centre of a controversial finale to group B as, after a game dominated by three VAR decisions, his team squeezed into the knockout stage at the expense of Iran.
Ronaldo stalked off the pitch in a rage at the final whistle after a match in which he had missed a penalty, played badly and — according to Iran’s coach at least — should have been sent off for an elbow instead of escaping with a yellow card after the video assistant referee’s scrutiny.
