A bizarre goal from Diego Costa - his third of this year's FIFA World Cup - was enough for Spain to earn their first victory in Group B on Wednesday, putting them level on points with joint leaders Portugal. The result was undeniably a fair reflection of the match - although the manner of the defeat was harsh on Iran, who frustrated their opponents for long periods and came desperately close to scoring on a number of occasions.
Although the Iranians were clearly the underdogs at the Kazan Arena, they started the match two points ahead of Spain in Group B - they defeated Morocco 1-0 in their opening match, while Spain could only draw their opener 3-3 against Portugal.