Video review gives Spain late draw with Morocco to top Group B

It took a video review of an injury-time equalizer to give Spain first place in its World Cup group.

Spain substitute IagoAspasscored the late goal Monday in a 2-2 draw with Morocco. His clever deflectionoff a cross fromDaniCarvajalwas initially disallowed for offside, but the video assistant referee overruled the call atKaliningradStadium.

Spain is through as group leader and faces Russia in the round of 16 at theLuzhnikiStadium in Moscow on Sunday. Portugal's 1-1 draw with Iran leftRonaldo'steam second and facing a knockout match against Uruguay on Saturday in the next round.

"Until the last minute, we weren't sure who was going to finish first and second," Spain coach FernandoHierrosaid. "And I have to say we were lucky to finish first."

• SCORES & STATS: 2018FIFAWorld Cup
• Who's in, who's out and who can still go through

The decision set off a touchline melee among players from both sides.

Hierro took over as Spain coach on the eve of the World Cup when Julen Lopetegui was fired after taking the job at Real Madrid. Now he is heading to the World Cup's knockout stage.

FIFA World Cup - Group B Wrap: June 25

6 years ago

Duration 1:39

Spain and Portugal move on to the round of 16, while Iran and Morocco are going home.

"Obviously we can improve," Hierro said. "Five goals in three matches, that is not the way forward. That is what I have told my players, and they understand that."

A rare mix-up by Andres Iniesta and Sergio Ramos gifted Morocco its first goal of the World Cup, with Khalid Boutaib pouncing on the loose ball and scoring in the 14th minute. Iniesta made amends five minutes later by setting up Isco at the other end with a clever cut back pass to bring Spain level at halftime.

Youssef En Nesyri then headed in a goal in the 81st minute to give already-eliminated Morocco hope of a victory.

With Portugal also drawing with Iran, Spain progressed as group winner because it scored more goals. Next up, Spain plays host Russia on Sunday in Moscow, while Portugal plays Uruguay in Sochi a day earlier.

"We haven't really won anything yet. It's been a very tough match," Isco said. "Maybe we weren't focused from the very beginning. We needed them to score on us to force us to react."

Spain may be through and is now on a 23-match unbeaten run, but it was far from convincing in group play and again displayed defensive frailties to concede twice against a Morocco team that hadn't scored a goal in its two previous group matches.

Earlier in the tournament, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat trick against Spain in a 3-3 draw with Portugal and only managed a 1-0 win against Iran.

While Spain controlled the game against Morocco with 68 per cent of possession, Isco thinks that Spain can do better.

"Maybe what we're missing to better control the game is more ball possession," the man of the match said. "Maybe that's what's missing. And that's normally something that we do much better."

Morocco was playing for pride in Kaliningrad and they can leave the tournament having made a point against Spain's selection of stars.

'We suffered' against Spain

"We would have loved to win over Spain," Morocco coach Herve Renard said. "This is why we came here tonight. We suffered, just like any other team who takes on Spain. When you look at the lineup, it's a mix of Real Madrid and Barca, so these are outstanding players."

Defending ruggedly and breaking out in fast counterattacks, Morocco was a constant threat and came close to retaking the lead earlier when Noureddine Amrabat rattled the goal frame with a powerful shot in the 55th minute that David De Gea could only watch as it bounced down to safety.

De Gea was criticized after his blunder gave Ronaldo one of his three goals in in Spain's draw with Portugal. But he proved his value to Spain in the second half first denying Boutaib a second goal with a save at the near post and then punching away a dangerous ball in the 50th minute as Mbark Boussoufa tried to reach a cross.

Spain has now done better than it did four years ago, when as defending champion it crashed out of the World Cup in Brazil at the group stage following defeats to the Netherlands and Chile.

In the round of 16, Spain faces a Russian team that proved in its first two matches that it can slice through weak defences. Russia scored eight times in its first two matches before falling to a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay earlier Monday.

"We're going to play against the host. They'll have the audience, they're in their home, but in the end, football is played on the pitch," Hierro said.