Cristiano Ronaldo's off-night against Iran nearly cost Portugal their World Cup dream and underlined the stark need for his teammates to contribute more in support of the Real Madrid superstar. Ronaldo carried Portugal through their first two group games, hitting a memorable hat-trick in a 3-3 draw with Spain before netting the winner in a gritty 1-0 victory over Morocco.

That left the European champions requiring just a point from their clash with Carlos Queiroz's Iran in Saransk, but an uncharacteristic display from Ronaldo had them sweating over a place in the Last 16. The five-time world player of the year missed a penalty that would have given Portugal a 2-0 lead, Ronaldo was then perhaps fortunate to receive just yellow after an elbow on Iran defender Morteza Pouraliganji.