Of all the games drawn from the first round of this year’s World Cup, Portugal vs. Spain was definitely the money match because the Iberian Derby is one of the unique games in all of football. 

It isn’t just that the peninsula is preternaturally talented at producing world class players, it’s that once it’s produced them, it’s reticent to let them go, adding an incestuous twist to the proceedings.

Unlike other countries where the all-star teams come from far and wide, Portugal and Spain are made in bulk from the Real Madrid and Barcelona sides; even the players that aren’t affiliated with La Liga’s top two are often inextricably linked. Spain’s Diego Costa is one of Atletico Madrid’s star players, meaning he has a chip on his shoulder with almost everyone he has to play with. 

Even David De Gea, who sows his oats in the English Premier League has been linked with Real Madrid – and, if the stories are to be believed, would be there now were it not for a dodgy fax machine.

This may imply a level of comradeship rather than rivalry, and the pre-game footage of the teams lining up lo‍oked depressingly convivial. 

Club mates Cristiano Ronaldo and Sergio Ramos, who together won the UEFA Champions League only weeks ago, lined up tonight as rivals, but you wouldn’t know it by the body language. Perhaps, having witnessed Group B’s other game between Iran and Morocco earlier in the day, they were intending to channel the spirit of ’82 and play to a draw, essentially confirming both sides would progress to the Round of 16.

But then the game began, and it wasn’t even five minutes before Ronaldo did what only Ronaldo can do and found himself doing stepovers into Spain’s box, drawing a foul from Nacho and getting a penalty in the process. 

De Gea squared up to him under the guise of making sure the ball was on the spot, but it didn’t matter as CR7 sent it in cool as you like.

From there, the game more than lived up to the hype. Even though each season is blessed with at least two Clasicos and two Madrid Derbys, this may be the pinnacle of Spanish football: free-flowing and slinky going forward but with the capacity to turn to filth at a moment’s notice. Costa’s tasteful first goal – which tied the game 1-1 – involved wrong-footing both Jose Fonte and goalkeeper Rui Patricio but also included dropping Pepe with a cheeky elbow.

The goal spurred Spain on and both Isco and Andres Iniesta added to the tally with shots that hit the bar or got pulled wide respectively. And then, before the half, Ronaldo made De Gea look like Loris Karius by scoring from a scuffed left-footed strike that was aimed directly at the keeper’s hands but bobbled in any way.

Though it was ultimately overshadowed by Brazil’s 7-1 dismantling by Germany in the last World Cup, it shouldn’t be forgotten that Spain were knocked out with a brutal 5-1 loss to the Netherlands – Spain themselves definitely haven’t forgotten it and came out swinging the second half to make sure there was no repeat. 

A testy few minutes quickly turned into a break for Spain once they found a gap in the Portuguese defense, culminating in Costa getting the second equalizer. 

Now the pressure was on and Nacho made up for his earlier mistake by putting Spain in the lead for the first time with a thunderous volley that pinged in off the post.

Almost immediately, tiki-taka football was reborn and Spain kept their dominant position by frustrating Portugal. 

Even though they were much improved from the side that won Euro 2016, Spain were on another level. Ronaldo, however, is working on an even higher plain of existence and finished the game with a third goal from a perfectly weighted free kick, denying Spain three points in the process. 

Considering the quality Spain displayed throughout, Ronaldo saving his trademark Super Saiyan celebration until the 88th minute suggests he always knew he would get a hat-trick.

And so the game ended where many assumed it would with a draw. Only, instead of it coming from the teams taking it easy on each other, it came from a football masterclass that also doubled as a statement of intent: Brazil and Germany were the favorites to win the tournament – now? Not so much.

Earlier in the day, Uruguay had to rise and grind against a Salah-less Egypt who were surprisingly resilient in the face of the much more expensive team. 

The African side ran rings around the South Americans for almost the whole 90 minutes, but talisman Mo Salah could only look on from the bench as Suarez and co. piled on the pressure and knocked in a last-minute header from a set piece corner that began with a professional foul from Edinson Cavani that already has Uruguay set up to be the villains of the tournament – which is just how they like it.

Then Iran and Morocco kicked off Group B with a game that began full of the magic of the cup: Two evenly matched teams, unsure if they’ll ever reach this stage again, played their hearts out on the grandest stage of them all in a conspicuously empty stadium. 

But as time ran down, the game spiralled into an amateur league nightmare; players went down with cramp having played barely over an hour, Morocco’s doctors tried to slap the sense back into a visibly concussed Sofyan Arambat on the touchline and the winner for Iran – again, a last minute header – came from an inexplicable Moroccan own goal, all accompanied by a symphony of vuvuzelas.

Next up are France vs. Australia, Argentina vs. Iceland, Peru vs. Denmark and Croatia vs. Nigeria at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. Beijing time today and midnight and 3 a.m. on Sunday respectively.