Russia have continued the trend of eliminating major teams from the World Cup as they beat Spain 4-3 on penalties.
The hosts played an excellent 90 minutes of football where they absorbed pressure and looked dangerous on the counter.Yet the final decision came down to penalties, where Koke and Aspas were both denied by Akinfeev to see Russia into the next round. The final score was 1-1, with Russia winning 4-3 on penalties.
The match began in unfortunate fashion when Sergei Ignashevich was trying to clear a Spanish corner, and lost sight of the ball as it bounced off his ankle, leaving the keeper stranded as the ball fell into the net.
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Russia however, were never completely out of the game despite Spain having most of the possession in the first half. Their persistence paid off in the 41st minute, when Gerard Pique’s hand was judged to be in an unnatural position after a Spanish cross, resulting in a penalty. The defender received a yellow card for his infringement, before Artem Dzyuba coolly slotted the penalty into the right corner of the goal.
The second half continued to be an exciting affair, with Spain retaining possession but looking weak on the attack, while every Russian counter looked dangerous against the Spanish back line.
Although both teams had their chances in the second half, neither side managed to capitalise on their opportunities, forcing the first period of extra time in this World Cup.
The first 15 minutes played out to be quite uneventful, with Spain ramping up the pressure as a tiring Russian team tried to hang on and play for the counter.
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The second half of extra time was dominated by box to box football and pouring rain, yet the result failed to change with both teams defending resolutely.
And so the teams went into the first penalty shootout of the tournament. Tensions were high as Spain felt they had missed the chance to keep destiny in their own hands, while Russia felt they had an ever-increasing chance of making it to the quarter finals.
The first four penalties were perfectly taken with all being scored, yet Koke let Spain down when his penalty was saved by Akinfeev. Akinfeev went on to seal the win for Russia with an excellent reflex save of Iago Aspas’ penalty.
This was to be the final straw for Spain, who have now shockingly bowed out of the World Cup. This comes as no surprise with the team was underwhelming in the match, as is evident by the most shots by a single player coming from Rodrigo who was subbed on in the 104th minute.
The hosts will now go on to face either Croatia or Denmark in the Quarter Finals on Saturday 7 of July.