KAZAN, Russia - Patience is a virtue, and Spain showed plenty of it to overcome a tough challenge from Iran at the World Cup.
During a frustrating match Wednesday at the Kazan Arena, where the 2010 tournament champions struggled to break through a stubborn defense, Diego Costa scored on a deflection for a 1-0 win.
Costa scored in the 54th minute after being set up by Andres Iniesta. The powerful striker turned in the penalty area and took a shot that deflected off Ramin Rezeian before bouncing back onto Costa's knee and into the net.
It was far from a beautiful win, but the goal was enough to make Spain coach Fernando Hierro smile.
"We have four points," Hierro said. "We were happier after the match against Portugal, but we only had one point."
Spain and Portugal lead Group B with four points each after their 3-3 draw and 1-0 victories. Iran has three points, but Morocco was eliminated from contention for the knockout stage with Wednesday's loss to Portugal.
Costa, who scored twice against Portugal on Friday in Sochi, has three goals at this year's World Cup and nine goals in his past nine starts for Spain. He only had one chance against Iran but made it count.
Hierro said Costa "works hard" and that he is "fighting both at the back and at the front."
Facing a compact Iranian team that came out to defend, Spain pressed high and controlled much of the game but found it difficult to threaten against a 10-man defense.
Spurred on by their vociferous fans, Iran's imposing players did well to handle Spain's attacks. Iran was also dangerous on the break, using the speed of its attacking players to threaten the Spanish back four but without creating many real chances.
Spain was mostly dangerous from set pieces, including in the 25th minute, when a free kick from David Silva that took a deflection was stopped by Iran goalkeeper Ali Beiranvand.
Spain continued to apply strong pressure in the second half, and Beiranvand stopped a strike from Sergio Busquets in the 49th minute with a superb one-handed diving save. He then palmed the rebound away before Lucas Vazquez could get to the ball.
Iran nearly equalized in the second half when Saeid Ezatolahi had a goal ruled out on video review, then continued to push hard and managed to challenge with some fast counterattacks. Spain was lucky not to concede toward the end as Mehdi Taremi connected with a cross from Karim Ansarifard, but his header from close range went over the crossbar.
First place in the group could be decided by goal difference. Spain will face Morocco in its final group match Monday in Kaliningrad, while Portugal plays Iran in Saransk on the same day.
Portugal 1, Morocco 0
MOSCOW - Off the top of his head, Cristiano Ronaldo scored yet another goal, set a European record and eliminated Morocco from contention for the knockout stage.
The Portugal forward's header of a fourth-minute cross by Joao Moutinho from the right side was his 85th goal for his country, the most for any European player in almost 150 years of international soccer.
"It was beautiful for me," Ronaldo said after being voted the man of the match for the second straight game.
The goal moved the Ronaldo, 33, ahead of Ferenc Puskas, another Real Madrid great who scored his last goal for Hungary in 1956. He is alone in second place worldwide behind Ali Daei's 109 goals for Iran.
"He has a great coach," Portugal coach Fernando Santos said through a translator, laughing when asked about Ronaldo. "He's like a port wine. He knows how to refine his capacity and age at his best."
Ronaldo's four goals top the individual scoring chart at this year's World Cup. Buoyed by his hat trick in a 3-3 draw against Spain on Friday, including a spectacular free kick late in the game, Ronaldo scored against Morocco with his first meaningful touch of the match after he was too strong for marker Manuel Da Costa and found space near the goal.
Uruguay 1, Saudi Arabia 0
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia - With a single goal, Luis Suarez settled the fate of all four teams in Group A.
The controversial striker, who was making his 100th appearance in his national team's light blue, led Uruguay to the win over Saudi Arabia and a spot in the knockout stage of the 32-team tournament for the third straight time. The result, though, also put host Russia into the next round while eliminating Egypt and Saudi Arabia from contention to advance.
Suarez, who was kicked out of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil for biting an opponent during a match, knocked in a corner kick from Carlos Sanchez in the 23rd minute for the 52nd goal of his international career.
Uruguay and Russia both have six points from their opening two matches, putting them into the round of 16 with a match to go. They will face each other Monday in Samara with first place in the group on the line.