Spain met Russia in the third round-of-16 match today.
Russia pulled out a miraculous win against Spain as the host nation defeated Spain 4-3 on penalties, after the match was drawn 1-1 at full time + thirty minutes.
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Spain, who were one of favourites to lift the trophy going into the tournament, were stunned by Russia, who pulled out a defensive masterclass. Spain could hardly create chances with their tiki-taka play, as Russia’s defensive line kept the spaces tight.
Spain scored early in the game through an own-goal by set-piece. However, Russia soon equalised when Gerard Pique’s handball resulted in a penalty.
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Spain dominated possession, as was expected from them, but couldn’t capitalise on it as Russia’s defensive performance was well complemented by their goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.
In the penalty shootout, Akinfeev made two brilliant saves, while Russia scored on all the four shots, as they edged past the European heavyweights 4-3.
With this win, Russia have reached the quarterfinal of the World Cup, and will now meet the winners of match between Croatia and Denmark, which will be played later tonight.
Here are some tweets from the match:
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