Well, I do not know if I would prefer Spain to play against Uruguay or against Russia… (the latter one would be funny at a personal level, though: My ex-wife is Russian).
Interestingly, if things play out, the bottom half of the bracket could be headlined by Portugual, Croatia, Mexico and Belgium. It would be cool to have a new nation in the final.
To be honest, having seen all the teams play a few times I’m really not sure which are the ones to avoid. No-one is shining out as a proper contender…or rather…too many are with not much to choose between them.
Coming second in the group might actually work better for Spain.
Spain is about to win the group.
CR7 missed PK coming back to haunt.
Well that escalated quickly!
Spain ties after the VAR dictamines that it was not off-side! Morocco 2 - Spain 2.
And another yellow card for Morocco for protesting this decision. GOOD (and I am not saying it because it was Morocco!! I would be happy as well if a Spanish player got booked for confronting the referee).
And Iran ties its game with Portugal!! Right now Spain is first of its group.
Portugal got effed with that penalty call. Exhibit #1 why VAR sucks – a) if the ref can’t catch something that ticky-tack, it shouldn’t be called, b) I didn’t see that much evidence that the call should have been made in the replay, c) holy christ that shit takes forever. There’s gonna be a half hour of extra time.
Iran played very well and missed the win by a few cms.
Americas gift to the world 
It is over! Morocco 2 - Spain 2, Spain is first of its group, Portugal second.
Spain will play against Russia, and Portugal against Uruguay.
The Moroccans played with a lot of spirit. Pity about their belligerence towards the referee, which costed them a lot of bookings. However, they were very plucky and fought well, and the game was entertaining.
Spain will have to do something about those defensive blunders, thought. They almost cost us dearly.
I wholeheartedly disagree
In my opinion VAR has been a boon for this competition. Their decisions so far have been right, and in any case 14 eyes see more than 8 ^.^
Also, I don’t mind 5 minutes of injury time.
It wouldn’t have taken so long if the ref hadn’t stood there and listened to arguments from both sides for several minutes before finally deciding to look at the replay. Surely he can make a decision on whether to go to VAR more quickly than that?
Man, they should give a month off for the World Cup. I step away for a meeting and everything goes haywire! Can’t wait to see the highlight shows tonight. Uruguay could be major problem for Portugal. Pistolero is sharpening up those fangs and the length of Ronaldo’s neck could be irresistible!
Not to mention the size of Ronaldo’s head…
What struck me today for the first time was his ginormous Adam’s apple. Never noticed it before, but holy shit!
It’s as if you’ve never played the game. WHERE exactly is he supposed to have his arm that isn’t blocking the ball? The picture clearly shows a natural stance just as every other player had their arms out. It’s a natural function of balance. You can’t run with your arms behind your back so their arms have to be SOMEWHERE. The defender has no way of knowing where the ball is going to be kicked unless he’s inches from the goal. Unless the hand is moved to block a ball then it’s pure chance the ball hits it.
Penalty shots drastically alter a game and should represent an egregious breach of the rules.
If this was how the refs were calling the game I would instruct my forwards to deliberately kick the ball at defender’s hands.
There’s an argument to be made that Morocco was the better team in all 3 matches and they finish bottom of the group (I’d say they were better in 2 of the 3). Tough game, soccer.
Totally fine with that. I thought the Copa Centenario was fantastic even as a fan of the American team that got shredded by Argentina.
Well the US used to get invited every year to Copa America but would decline the invitation. With only 10 countries, they always have 2 open spots for outside teams, and the US included would certainly help their revenue totals. I started a thread a while back questioning why the US never goes. I think the more exposure to the better teams in the world, the better. But that might explain why we miss World Cups when FIFA gives us the easiest road to get in.
ETA: not every year, but every time it was held.
Just watched the last 30 minutes of the Spain game. Before the tournament, I thought their ability to score was in question, but that the defense was a guarantee. Giving up 3 goals to Portugal should have been a clue. Now I think Uruguay will knock them out this weekend.