¡Hello Friends!
1.- To Spain it is enough to add a point tonight to seal his pass to the round of 16, although it is more likely that, even losing, he will qualify. In fact, there are only two scenarios in which La Roja would be eliminated today. The first of them is why Iran and Portugal draw and Spain lose against Morocco by more than one goal difference (could also be lost out by exactly one goal, but only if the Iranians tie four or more against the Lusitanian).
2.- The second scenario in which Spain would be eliminated tonight is that they lose the two big favorites of the group (Spain against Morocco and Portugal against Iran), being the defeat of Spain wider than Portugal. If both lost by identical goal difference, would happen the one that scored the most goals tonight and, in case of persisting the draw, the one that has received fewer cards (at the moment there is an advantage for Spain, that only has one admonished by two of Portugal ). The last resort would be a lottery to decide the second and third place of the group.
3.- When the case arises, it would not be the first draw of this type in a World Cup. In Italy 1990 it was necessary to resort to chance to determine the second and third position of group F, given that the Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands had finished tied at all and still did not use the yellow cards as a tie-break criterion.
4.- Spain will know the outcome of group A, before playing their game against Morocco. If La Roja is first group will face the second classified group A, which will be Russia if it loses with Uruguay, or celestial itself, if it fails to defeat the hosts on the last day. The hypothetical quarter-final opponent would most likely be the winner of an eighth-round tie between Croatia and Denmark.
5.- Spain does not exceed the group stage of the World Cup as second classified since 1994. In 1998 and in 2014 it was third, while in 2002, 2006 and 2010 it was the first. In the last five world championships only one second of the group reached the grand final (France in 2006). The last world champion who was not first in his group was Italy in 1982.
6.- Spain will play against Morocco for the third time in its history. The first two duels date from November 1961 and were qualifying matches for the 1962 World Cup. The first was played in Casablanca and ended with a Spanish victory by 0-1, thanks to a goal by Del Sol. The second was played eleven days later at the Bernabéu and finished 3-2, with goals from Marcelino, Di Stéfano and Collar for the locals and from Riahi and Ben Barek for the Africans.
7.- Morocco will be, from today, the second African team to which more times (three) Spain has faced, only behind South Africa (four). The overall balance of the Spanish team against African rivals is twelve victories, zero draws, two defeats, 31 goals in favor and 14 against in 14 matches.
8.- The only African teams that have managed to defeat Spain are Nigeria (3-2, in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup) and South Africa (1-0, in a friendly match played in the Soccer City of Johannesburg in November 2013).
9.- Spain has 22 consecutive games without losing since the defeat against Italy in the eighth finals of Euro 2016. It is the best current streak of any team in the world, ahead of Belgium (which has 21 followed) and Denmark ( that has 17 followed).
10.- Spain has 22 consecutive games scoring, in which it is already the best run of matches followed with scoring throughout the history of La Roja. It is also the best current streak of any team in the world (the one that is closest is India, which has 18). However, the world record is totally unapproachable (Hungary linked 66 consecutive games with a goal between 1949 and 1957).
11.- Diego Costa has scored in the first two days of the group stage and today could go down in history as the second Spanish player who scores in all the matches of the first phase of the World Cup, after Telmo Zarra that achieved in 1950 (scoring against the United States, Chile and England).
12.- One more goal would raise the Spanish-Brazilian's score to four goals in Russia 2018. There are only five Spanish players who have scored four (or more) goals in a World Cup: Basra (four in 1950), Zarra (four in 1950), Butragueño (five in 1986), Míchel (four in 1990) and Villa (five in 2010).
13.- Sergio Ramos will surpass Iker Casillas today as a Spanish player with more matches in big tournaments (World Cup, European Championship and Confederations Cup), since, for the time being, they are tied at 38. Casillas has played 17 games in World Cups, 14 in Euros and seven in Confederations, while Camas has played 15 in World Cups, 15 in Euros and eight in Confederations.
14.- Sergio Ramos is going to play his match number 16 in the Cop tonight