Thursday night was, in the words of Borat, "great success" for Brazil, and consequently the cause of gastric tribulation for at least half of Bangladesh's adult population i.e. Argentina fans.

For mostly neutrals, however, it was a good watch. Especially after the hour mark, having unlocked the Serbian vault, the Brazilians played with joy that was reminiscent of Socrates' finest.  The joga bonito of old.

Thursday night was also good for Portugal, and the still great Cristiano Ronaldo. While the calculus behind figuring out who was unhappy about Brazil's victory is fairly straightforward, it is harder to define the subset of humanity that is irked by CR7's success. It used to be easy once. The anti-Ronaldo camp was pretty much defined by anyone who hated Real Madrid and Manchester United. 

Since snippets of Piers Morgan's interview with the star came out a few weeks ago, however, the anti-Ronaldo map has gotten murkier. Ronaldo's frank words during a messy divorce with Manchester United has won him fans in the unlikeliest of places. There have been reports of CR7 fan sightings even at Anfield and the Emiraes.  It is a fascinating study in the evolution of football fandom.

One thing you can say about the man is that he has a flair for the dramatic. The other thing you can say about him is that he is brilliant, even in the twilight of his career.

And what do you know? The Iranians have found their feet. I mentioned before that the team have been under pressure both on and off the pitch. They had taken a stand by expressing solidarity with demonstrators at home, and before the match, there were reports of an ex Iranian national team player being picked up by authorities for speaking out against the government. They shrugged that off to put on a great show against the Welsh on Friday. It was wonderful to watch.