Pure football drama. This game had almost everything. One of the great World Cup matches.
Spain had a shaky start, with Nacho giving away a penalty just three minutes into the game when he tripped Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo, who had never scored against Spain, sent de Gea the wrong way to get his first against them.
Portugal then went on to look incredibly dangerous on the counter, putting a lot of pressure on the Spaniards.
That pressure was short lived however as Spain started to find their feet.
In the 24th minute Diego Costa received a long ball, shrugged off Pepe and somehow created space between two defenders to place the ball into the side of the net to equalise for Spain.
From there it was almost all Spain as they kept the ball and remained patient building up to attacks.
They came agonisingly close, with Isco’s effort hitting the underside of the bar and bouncing off the goal line.
Spain dominated right until the end of the half, but football can change in an instant, and one defensive error is all it took.
Late in the first half Ronaldo took a shot from distance right at David de Gea, whose blunder gifted Portugal the lead against the run of play.
It was reminiscent of England’s Robert Green in 2010 against the United States.
Spain started horribly in the first half, but came out firing in the second.
They dominated possession early before a clever set-piece move saw Diego Costa get his second goal of the night from close range to once again bring Spain level.
Then, just minutes later, Nacho redeemed himself.
The ball fell to him outside of the box and he fizzed a half-volley into the side netting to give Spain a 3-2 lead with 30 minutes to play.
Spain seemed to have everything under control but then with two minutes to play Cristiano Ronaldo was fouled in a dangerous area.
Ronaldo stepped up and put the ball up over the wall and into the top corner to make it 3-all and bagged himself a hat-trick in the process.
That was the last twist in the tale, thus ending one of the greatest World Cup matches in history.
Final score
Spain 3
Portugal 3
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Fantastic game no matter what some here have posted. Diego Costa’s first goal for me was the best of the game. It was hand-to-hand combat with 3 players, holding off and then twisting and turning before slotting it home. Magnificent. I hope Tomi Juric was watching.
Fadida
Guest
I joined the app yesterday. The streaming on my cheap Lenovo tablet was perfect. I had serious buffering issues when I tried to chrome cast it though, but that happens a bit anyway. So far so good from me
Stevo
Roar Rookie
I got Optus Sport to see what all the buzz is about re streaming via an app on my iPad. It’s OK but is does suffer from fails, whether it’s the app and/or internet congestion (I’m on BigPond cable). So far it’s not enticing me to hang on to my subscription beyond this WC.
BigAl
Guest
These guys are warriors - more fearsome than the Mongols - and will show no mercy !
Kangas
Roar Rookie
The quality of 5 of the 6 goals was amazing The lead up to the penalty, Brillant Costa goal was from a long ball and he beast mode past 3 defenders. Sensational
Lionheart
Guest
Both were great. Did you notice the Russia free kick v KSA? The wall hardly moved, just a small jump, and the ball just cleared their heads. I think it was the fifth for Russia.
Lionheart
Guest
I have to agree Nemesis. I detest soft penalties or fouls, but both those were fair calls. The ref did well.
shirtpants
Roar Guru
Uruguay v Egypt was poor from most accounts. I lost about 15 minutes in and aroind
Kangas
Roar Rookie
What’s interesting about Spain is they will play the long ball if it’s on , like for Diego Costa for the first goal . It’s not all tiki taka , but what Spain did overall was mix it up and they were terrific. It took a genius to get the draw for Portugal. Amazing game .
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Who else is finding Optus streaming hopeless Really disappointed Lucky sbs showed the Spain v Portugal game
Kangas
Roar Rookie
Great game
Eden
Guest
That wasn’t my problem. First penalty was clearly a penalty. Defender stepped in, sure Ronaldo dragged his foot a little to ensure contact but it was poor defence. The second one looked a lot less convincing. I just asked to see what others thought.
Punter
Guest
Some people are hard to please. It's great in Russia, so many Aussies in Kazan. But CR7 what a player.
BrainsTrust
Guest
Petratos free kick is very powerfully hit and from further out, look at the trajectory it passes the small wall which moves out of the way at about stomach height, and is just flattening it out as it passes the goal line hitting the net fairly high. Its a knuckle ball style free kick, with a lot of swerve,and Ronaldo has also done quite a lot of these and you use it from further out and the swerve is unpredictable so the goal keeper cannot predict it. This Ronaldo free kick goes over the wall from short range, so it can;t be hit that hard, and is the predictble swerve from the inside of the foot, the goal keeper will know which way it is swerving, De Gea actually reacts and then stops. He should have just dived for the top corner regardless, it dipped and came back quite a way so it would have been reachable.
Fadida
Guest
The problem for some of these posters nemesis is that Ronaldo is not a "real man". Real men get involved in heavy physical altercation, preferably with punches thrown, and play sports with courage levels not seen since the second WW.
Fadida
Guest
Dubiious quality? You have no idea and should retire from posting ln here. The quality was magnificent. Never has a username been so inappropriate.
Nemesis
Guest
Penalty & free kick were absolutely spot on. The refs in this tournament have been outstanding. Let the game flow, ignoring things that need to be ignored. But, not surprised if people who don't watch Football don't understand the Laws. I only watch Water Polo, Handball, Field Hockey during the Olympics & my comments on the rules are ignorant.
Nemesis
Guest
Morocco vs Iran was a terrific first half. Both teams played with an intention to win. 2nd half it looked like both teams feared losing rather than risk winning. That's football. If Australia replicates the Iranian way of winning, I would care if we bore every casual sports fan to sleep.
P Air
Guest
I think Ronaldo is a highly gifted athlete. Pity he ruins his image with some supporters of the game by hitting the deck far too easily. For both the penalty and free-kick he was looking for them and the ref obliged - other refs may not have been as generous as this one. Before anyone gets too carried away by his hat-trick only one was scored from open play thanks to a De Gea error - the other 2 were from deadballs dubiously awarded.
Cool and Cold
Guest
"If this is what we can expect for the rest of the tournament I can’t wait. Spain were the better side and played the far better brand of football." That is what is expected tonight. That is football. That is world cup. Iran wins. How about France vs Australia? That is World Cup.