Group B still wide open as Iran,Spain and Portugal all stand a chance of qualifying in their last group game
Spain had so much possession, linked up beautifully and got the ball forward quickly. However, Iran's defense was proved almost impenetrable for at least 45 minutes.
They were rewarded through Diego Costa, who opened the scoring courtesy of Andres Iniesta's hard work.
Saied Ezatolahi thought had his supposed equalizer midway through the second half disallowed as it was ruled for offside.
We look at how the players on both sides fared
Iran
Alireza Beiranvand -7
He made several saves including a terrific double save at the start of the second period.
Ehsan Haji Safi - 7
He defended well in what appeared to be a 6-2-2 formation and pressed hard as well.
Ramin Rezaeian - 6.5
He was Well-organized and regularly got behind the ball.
Majid Hosseini - 7
Great defending as he pressed early on in the game.
Morteza Pourlaliganji - 6.5
He denied Spain a goal cushion as got his body in the way.
Saied Ezatolahi - 7.5
Put the ball into the back of the net but the equalizer which was disallowed after the incident before the goal was ruled for offside
Omid Ebrahimi - 6.5
Great defending in the first half.
Karim Ansarifad - 7.5
He was terrific in thwarting Spain's attack.
Vahid Amiri – 8
He did put in some hard work as he made his presence known both in defense and attack
Mehdi Taremi - 7.5
Beautiful run forward. Directed a nice ball squarely into the box but no one was there to meet it. Header went just wide in what was a scare for Spain. His header in the 82' minute went
Sardar Azmoun - 4
Quiet first half as Iran were busy defending. Things didn't change for the forward in the second half.
Milad Mohammadi - 5.5
He came off the bench to try and create play,
Alireza Jahanbakhsh – 4
He seemed like a mere passenger of bench
Spain
David De Gea (GK) – 6
He did not have much on the evening as most of Iran’s threats in the second half were off target
Jordi Alba - 5.5
He moved up the field to attack and then did well defensively. Some passes were wasted up front.
Sergio Ramos - 6.5
A compact figure in defense.
Gerard Pique - 7
Didn't have to do much in the first half. Latched onto the ball in Iran's box and his tap-in was stopped by Beiranvand.
Dani Carvajal - 6
Back in the staring line-up and was pivotal in moments.
Lucas Vasquez - 5.5
Directed a pass behind Iran's defence in a good effort. Didn't do much else in the remainder of the game.
Andres Iniesta - 8
Kept possession, no surprises there. Was the architect in building up to Costa's goal.
Isco - 8.5
Dictated play, wasn't afraid to run deep. Brilliant to watch his magical movement. Fabulous all match.
Sergio Busquets - 7
Another who kept possession and made accurate passes.
David Silva - 7
Great link-up with Iniesta. Had a few chances as he went for goal with his free-kick but didn't trouble the 'keeper and volleyed one over the bar.
Diego Costa - 7
Little service in the first half. Clever play in the 54th minute to roll the ball and strike into the back of the net.