Good morning, Davey Cooper here giving you a bitesize look at what’s going on today in the world of sport.
TOP STORY
Spain boss Fernando Hierro admitted after the 2-2 draw with Morocco that his side were lucky to finish top of World Cup Group B and stressed the need for defensive improvement.
Hierro’s men were set to finish second in the pool, and face Group A winners Uruguay in the last 16, until a stoppage-time equaliser by substitute Iago Aspas.
Initially the flag was up for offside, but the goal, Spain’s second leveller of the contest, was subsequently given following a VAR review.
With a late Iran goal seeing them hold Portugal 1-1, Spain and Portugal ended up level on five points in first and second place respectively, with goals scored putting the former ahead.
Read our talking points and ratings from Spain’s draw.
WORLD CUP
If you missed yesterday’s matches, Spain and Portugal secured their qualification from World Cup Group B to join Group A pair Uruguay and Russia in the knockout stages.
Cristiano Ronaldo saw his penalty saved in Portugal’s World Cup draw with Iran, while Iago Aspas netted a 91st minute equaliser to earn shaky Spain top spot. Read our talking points and ratings from the games here.
In Monday’s other matches, Uruguay beat Russia 3-0 and Saudi Arabia saw off Egypt 2-1 at the Volgograd Arena.
In today’s games, Australia take on Peru (18:00), France entertain Denmark (18:00), Nigeria are in action against Argentina (22:00) and Iceland face Croatia (22:00).
CRICKET
Jos Buttler admitted to feeling a little nervy before he administered the final blow to complete England’s improbable one-wicket win and historic 5-0 whitewash of Australia.
Without Buttler, on his captain Eoin Morgan’s acknowledgement, England would have had no chance at 114 for eight in pursuit of Australia’s under-par 205 all out in the one-day international series finale at Old Trafford.
In local news, UAE pacer Mohammad Naveed has set himself an ambitious target of being the top wicket-taker and taking the scalp of David Warner at the upcoming Global T20 Canada Tournament.
The 31-year-old is one of four UAE players to be selected through the draft earlier this month. He joins UAE skipper Rohan Mustafa at Toronto while Shaiman Anwar and Ahmed Raza are part of the Edmonton Royals’ squad.
FEATURE OF THE DAY
Our man Matt Monaghan previews Nigeria v Argentina at World Cup 2018
SOCIAL MEDIA ROUND-UP
#URU 3 - 0 #RUS #KSA 2 - 1 #EGY #ESP 2 - 2 #MAR #IRN 1 - 1 #POR
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 25, 2018
A day of drama and records at the #WorldCup, with two memorable goals from @07RQuaresma and @LuisSuarez9.
Here's our recap of all the day's action:
👉 https://t.co/Juzs9afbNe pic.twitter.com/ekFUMTlLLu
🇳🇬🇦🇷
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 26, 2018
“The whole team is frustrated, not just Leo Messi. We can’t put all this on Leo”@Mascherano ahead of #NGAARG pic.twitter.com/9yyJ766arz
WHAT’S ON TODAY
WORLD CUP:
Australia v Peru (18:00)
Denmark v France (18:00)
Nigeria v Argentina (22:00)
Iceland v Croatia (22:00)
