Portugal vs Spain Score, Live Commentary, World Cup 2018

PEEP! PEEP! PEEEEEEEEP! FULL TIME! AN ABSOLUTE CLASSIC ENDS RONALDO 3 - 3 SPAIN!

What a game. Cristiano Ronaldo took it by the scruff of the neck, ably supported by a superb Portuguese outfit. Spain were superb too - barring De Gea - and neither side deserved to lose that.

What a game. That's all from me, an exhausted - but over the moon Anirudh Menon signing out.

Toodle-ooo!

90' + 4' Spain pass it around. They've had enough it looks like.

90' +3' Ronaldo goes down with a touch of cramp

90' + 2' OH! QUARESMA! The magician sends Nacho to fetch a pail of water before lashing a shot at goal, that Pique throws himself at. The ball gets played out, Quaresma curls a lovely ball into the box and Ronaldo misses from five yards. HOW!

90' +1' They play it short again, and Raphael Guerreiro swings it into nothingness.

90' Andre Silva holds off Nacho and wins a freekick. They hack it clear, but Moutinho floats a lovely out-ball to win another

89' I need to catch my breath... you need to catch your breath. We need to catch our breath.

OH MY GOOD F***KING LORD! WHAT IS THIS MAN! WHAT. IS. THIS. MAN. He hasn't scored a fucking freekick for a decade, and he absolutely larrumps it into the back of the net. This is Cristiano Ronaldo's 51st career hattrick.

87' GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL! RONAAAAAAAAAAAAALDOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

86' Substitution for Spain as Lucas Vazquez is coming on for David Silva. AND OH! Ronaldo kills a steepler dead with a velvety touch and draws a foul from Pique.

84' Andre Silva runs into Busquets and wants a foul. The ref rightly asks him to get on with it.

82' Iago Aspas gets on to the ball after around 1,376th minute of Spanish possession and he has a go at goal from inside the box. It's a hapless shot.

81' This is death by a thousand passes. Portugal are pressing like mad-men, Spain are passing it like they don't give a damn.

80' Andre Silva is thrown on for Goncalo Guedes. Senor Santos has hoisted that good ol' kitchen sink on to his shoulders now.

79' OH! HIGH DRAMA IN THE SPANISH BOX! Cedric lofts a ball into space -- Ronaldo almost charges it down but ends up running into Pique and De Gea... the ball bounces out to Quaresma and then onto his hand. The ref blows for a Spain freekick as the Portuguese half-heartedly appeal for a pen for the Ronaldo incident.

77' Hierro takes off Diego Costa for Iago Aspas. Spain are looking to pass their way to keeping hold of this win, now.

76' Spain are allowing Ronaldo and Quaresma space to run at them. Not the wisest ploy. Quaresma then tries to trivela his way to goal from a fair distance out and from a nonsensical angle. Of course he does. It balloons into row Z. Of course it does.

75' ... Thiago dribbles his way past Moutinho with absurd ease before slipping it to Isco. Who gets stopped in his tracks by an excellent Cedric tackle

74' Spain are passing it around the back under some serious pressure from the Portugal high press. And they pass their way out of it...

73' Another dreamy Ramos crossfield - Nacho turn combination sets Spain on their way. They pass it into the middle where Isco runs straight into traffic. Portugal start from the back

72' Quaresma's first meaningful contribution is to win Portugal a corner. They play it short, Moutinho loops it to Pepe, who heads it deep - Ronaldo keeps it play but Ramos hacks clear

71' OH COSTA! After a bit of passing it around, Silva slips it to Isco - who slips it to Costa... WHO CONNECTS WITH NAUGHT BUT FRESH AIR. OUCH!

70' Alba almost sells Ramos short with a hopeless ball and Cristiano Ronaldo is this close to latching onto it. Spain regain composure, Nacho sends Guedes into another dimension with a body feint and Spain surge forward.

69' Substitution again for Portugal as that absolute magician Ricardo Quaresma comes on for Bernardo Silva. Hierro takes of a tired looking Iniesta for Thiago Alcantara

67' Change for Portugal as Joao Mario comes on for Bruno Fernandes

66' A slight lull in this absolute classic... and just as I type that out Bernardo Silva decides to run into the box -- it looks interesting, till he forgets the ball halfway through the run. Aiy.

64' Sergio Ramos Xabi Alonsos a ball out to Nacho - the difference maker then ends up crossing it into the hands of Rui Patricio. Joao Mario is stripped down and ready to come on, by the by

63' The corner is deep, Guedes heads it down to Pepe who tries to force his way through a crowded box; but Ramos is having absolutely none of that. Isco dances forward, nutmegs Bernardo Silva and forces the Portuguese to run into his compatriot Moutinho. Isco DISCO

62' OOOH! Another lovely flick from Ronaldo frees up Bruno Fernandes who wins a corner off Ramos.

61' Pepe almost lets Ronaldo loose into the Spanish third with a thumping headed clearance, but Ronaldo can't control the ball. Pique then clears the ball into touch.

60' Guerreiro's ball is not the best, and Nacho clears well. Good minute odd of football for the Real Madrid lad.

59' Cristiano Ronaldo is an angry man, he runs at Nacho with real purpose and wins a freekick, before jogging into the box awaiting the delivery.

OH MY GOOD LORD! OH. MY. GOOD. LORD. After a bit of pinball inside the box, the ball bounced out to Nacho - who absolutely LEATHERED IT ON THE VOLLEY. That clanged off the post in the most pleasing manner. SPAIN HAVE THE LEAD NOW! WHAT A GAME!

58' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAL!!! NAAAAAACHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

57' Spain are looking to pass Portugal to death right now. The passing carousel, as Sir Alex Ferguson so memorably described the Barca midfield machine.

56' Ronaldo heads it on, Guedes looks to take on Ramos and goes down. The ref asks him to dust off his backside and get on with it. The Portuguese are not a happy lot with that decision.

Another most un-Spanish goal for Costa! Iniesta pings it deep into Busquets, the Catalan nods it across the face of goal where Costa is on hand to tap it. Tony Pulis is sat somewhere in the Midlands nodding his head in approval.

55' GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! COSTAAAAAAAAAA!

54' WOOF! A lovely drop of the shoulder allows Guerrero to slip past Isco, but Spain regain possession and Iniesta returns the favour with a feint of his own, and this time he wins a freekick off Moutinho

53' Pepe looks to release Guedes on the counter, but he overhits it. Spain have the ball and they start again.

51' Nacho, David Silva, and Koke play keep ball in the Portuguese third. The men in red don't really give a damn, and allow them to continue playing their 'harmless' sideways balls. Silva look to change it up with a disguised ball to Costa, but Pepe reads it superbly and smacks it clear

49' Ronaldo does superbly to hold up the ball as Portugal finally move forward with intent -- he moves it onto Bernardo Silva, and the City lad finds Guerrero on the opposite flank with a sublime crossfield; but the move breaks down as Iniesta intercepts. The great man tries to dribble his way out of the half, Bruno Fernandes robs him off it, before curling a useless shot well wide of David De Gea's far post

47' Isco drops deep once again to get things going, and this results in Spain moving their passing session about fifty yards ahead. But Silva strays offside as they look for that one penetrating ball -- and they have to start all over again now.

46' Spain are knocking it about with a patience that would be beyond most football teams. Most human beings, in fact.

PEEP! WE ARE OFF AGAIN as Cristiano Ronaldo gets things going. No changes to either side

PEEP! PEEP! HALFTIME!

CRISTIANO RONALDO 2 - 1 SPAIN

Ronaldo won the penatly, and smacked it in. For the second, Ronaldo took the shot, and the chance, as he has always done in his career. What a beast of a man.

At the other end, Spain have looked menacing, Isco dancing his disco around hapless men in red shirts, Diego Costa bullying men who are not used to being bullied, Iniesta gliding on water.

But the unthinkable separates the two sides. A David De Gea blunder. As we live and breathe.

It's been an immense game of football. By God, the World Cup has started.

45' + 1' Spain win a corner, but it comes to nothing

AI! AI! AI! A hack forward is controlled superbly by Guedes, he takes a shot that bounces off Ramos into Ronaldo's feet. The great man smacks it at goal and DE GEA LETS IT SLIP BETWEEN HIS GLOVES, ROB GREEN STYLE. No, seriously. De Gea. Rob Green. The same sentence.

44' GOOOOOOOOOOOAL! RONALDOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!

43' OI! Guerreiro hacks an Alba ball away with an unorthodox ball but nothing comes off the corner. So all's well that ends well