With one win and one draw in the tournament so far, Portugal will look to seal their last 16 berth with a win when they clash against Iran in their final group encounter today (Monday), reports NDTV.
Once again all eyes will be on 33-year-old in-form Cristiano Ronaldo, who will look to take away the match from the 37th ranked side coached by former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz.
Ronaldo and Queiroz are both appearing at their fourth World Cup, as player and coach respectively, and their relationship dates back to the Portugal captain's arrival as a teenager at Manchester United in 2003.
The 65-year-old served as Alex Ferguson's assistant over two spells either side of a brief stint in charge of Real Madrid, the club Ronaldo joined in 2009 in a deal Queiroz helped facilitate. But their relationship soured following a second-round exit to Spain at the 2010 World Cup, after which Ronaldo suggested Queiroz was to blame for the defeat.
Portugal then crashed out in the group stage four years ago in Brazil, but Ronaldo is single-handedly leading their quest in Russia with all four of his team's goals so far.
"Our expectation is to continue our work and try to improve in the group phase," Ronaldo said after his early strike over Morocco left Portugal level on four points with Spain at the top of Group B.
Portugal need a draw to be sure of a place in the knockout phase, with either hosts Russia or Uruguay awaiting them in the next round should they advance.
Iran, who beat Morocco 1-0 before falling to Spain by the same scoreline, must beat Portugal to reach the latter stages of the World Cup for the first time.
Cristiano Ronaldo attends a training session at the team's base in Kratovo, outside Moscow on Sunday — Reuters
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