Top 5 moments of 2018 FIFA World Cup till now
The FIFA World Cup 2018 has now entered the knock-out stages. From tomorrow, top 16 teams will fight it out to seal a spot in the quarter-finals. But the group stage, in itself, has given us some classy moments that were both significant and shocking. Here we look at the top 5 moments of this edition till now.
Ronaldo's stunning hat-trick against Spain
Cristiano Ronaldo's superb hat-trick against Spain set the tone of the tournament, in the first major clash between two top guns. The match saw the Madrid talisman stun Spain on his own in a classic 3-3 duel. Ronaldo scored a sublime penalty, before a howler by David de Gea got him the second. An amazing late free-kick saw Portugal hold Spain to a draw.
Even 'GOAT' makes mistakes after all
Messi and Ronaldo are considered as the Greatest Of All Time. But, this term, the duo missed one penalty each, which shows that they are humans after all. Messi missed a penalty for Argentina against Iceland, in what could have sealed a victory for them. CR7 then missed a spot-kick against Iran. Portugal were held 1-1 by Iran and subsequently finished behind Spain.
Rojo's winner for Argentina was massive
Argentina were in a spot of bother after a draw and a loss in their first two games. Anything short of a win against Nigeria would have knocked them out. Messi got Argentina ahead, before Nigerians equalized with a 51st minute penalty. Marcos Rojo came to the rescue act in the 86th minute to slot in home for Argentina, guiding them to the knock-outs.
Defending champions Germany getting knocked out
Germany became the third successive champions to bow out of the World Cup in the group stage. South Korea's Kim Young-gwon scored the opener in injury time. Interestingly, VAR ruled Kim's goal legitimate after the official had called it an off-side. Son Heung-min then doubled the lead, four minutes later, to send Germany crashing out. The holders ended up at bottom of Group F.
Aspas helps Spain save the blushes
Aspas came to Spain's rescue in a dramatic fashion against Morocco in Group B's final encounter. Spain were trailing 1-2 against Morocco and were in line for a shocking defeat besides also running the risk of finishing second. But Aspas scored in injury-time. The referee disallowed his effort and judged it an off-side, but VAR came into action and Spain were awarded the equalizer.
