Talking Points: Can Portugal perform without Ronaldo?

The fixture saw Iran custodian Ali Beiranvand deny the talismanic forward from the spot.

Portugal played out a thrilling 1-1 draw against Iran in their final Group B match at the FIFA World Cup 2018. After going in front through Ricardo Quaresma's amazing strike, Portugal also saw Cristiano Ronaldo missing out on a penalty and Iran capitalizing on another one later on. But, the point wasn't enough for Iran, who were gutted to go out of the tournament. 

Watch: Iran 1-1 Portugal highlights

Here are the talking points from the fixture.

5. Ricardo Quaresma's stunning effort one of the strikes of the tournament

Ricardo Quaresma got his first start of the World Cup and made sure to make quite the impression with a lively appearance for his side. He looked menacing with his tricky movement and decided to turn back the clock with a wonder strike.

It was a trademark outside of the right boot effort from Queresma, who made his name scoring such world-class goals. It even left the excellent Alireza Beiranvand surprised and because of the incredible technique and audacity, Quaresma's effort went down in the history books as one of the best strikes of the tournament so far.

4. Carlos Queiroz's excellent work on display with Iran's improved World Cup outing

Carlos Queiroz definitely surprised many by taking the job of the Iranian national team in 2011, but the work he has done in making them a commendable outfit is nothing short of extraordinary.

After attaining only a point at Brazil 2014, Iran showed immense improvement by getting four points and only finishing a point behind the group leaders. Queiroz has definitely unearthed many talents in those years and made Iran a more compact and this allowed them to have a  much better outing.

3. The full-back problem came back to haunt Portugal

Fernando Santos has done a great job at solidifying the defensive side of Portugal in recent years, but something he must be worried about currently is their lack of qualify full-backs. Both Raphael Guerrero and Cedric Soares were poor against Iran, with Guerrero having an especially nightmarish time in the World Cup.

He was consistently outclassed in the other Group matches for Portugal and is slowly becoming a vulnerable point for the European champions.

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2. Iran should go home with their heads held high

Iran desperately needed a win against Portugal and showed that as they really took the fight to them in their final match. After Beiranvand saved Ronaldo's penalty, Iran were the ones attacking in numbers. They even scored a penalty and came harrowingly close to scoring again in the dying minutes.

Despite being loathed by many because of their defensive football, Iran definitely earned the respect of fans all around. They should go home with their heads held high because of their impressive outing in the World Cup and aim to win the AFC Asian Cup next year.

1. Can Portugal survive in the World Cup without Ronaldo magic?

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Ronaldo had a surprisingly poor outing for Portugal against Iran, in which he missed the penalty which basically did not allow them to top the group. He looked a bit frustrated and not as confident as he was in earlier games and Ronaldo's poor form was also on show in Portugal's own performance.

The unit looked vulnerable and toothless without their talisman's majestic influence, something which could be a point of worry for them.