Jamie McDonald - Getty Images
Russia were not good on Tuesday, but did enough to defeat Azerbaijan and stay on top of their group.
Russia were unable to turn their clear superiority into a goal from open play against Azerbaijan on Tuesday, but were bailed out in the closing minutes. Vladimir Bystrov did excellently to win a penalty with just eight minutes remaining in the match, and Roman Shirokov converted to give his side a 1-0 win.
Azerbaijan goalkeeper Kamran Agayev had an excellent day and was a big part of the reason his team kept a clean sheet for most of the match, but there wasn't much he could do about the winner. Bystrov won the penalty by beating two men on his dribble, eventually enticing Ali Gokdemir to trip him in the penalty area. Shirokov's winner was harsh on Azerbaijan, but there wasn't much controversy about the penalty.
Fabio Capello won't be too pleased with his team's performance, but all wins count the same. A draw would have put Portugal back in control of their own World Cup destiny and undone a lot of the good they did by winning Friday's match.
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