Russia have advanced to the quarter finals of the 2018 Fifa World Cup in dramatic fashion after beating the Spanish 4:3 in penalty shootouts.
Russia’s victory at home turf sparked wild celebrations in the streets of Moscow and other cities across the country. Spain joined Argentina and Portugal who were kicked out of the tournament on Saturday.
Russia’s victory came after a 1-1 draw in the 90 minutes and the 30 extra minutes. Spain took the lead with an own goal by Sergey Ignashevich in the 15th minute. Towards the end of first half, Russia was awarded a penalty which was converted by Artem Dzyuba following a handball by Spanish defender Gerald Pique.
During the penalty shootouts, Russian goalkeeper Igor Ankinfeev saved two spot kicks which gave his side a passport to the quarter finals against Croatia next Saturday.
In the second game of the evening, Croatia beat Denmark 3-2 also through penalty shootouts following a 1-1 draw.
This year’s world cup is proving a nemesis for the traditional top clubs as shown by the unceremonious departure of Portugal, Argentina, Spain and Denmark and defending champions Germany.
