“The underdog beating the champ.”
Russia are through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup. The hosts came into the tournament as the lowest-ranked side and weren’t expected to get beyond the group stages. A favourable draw saw them play Saudi Araba and Egypt in their first two matches. They comfortably beat the hapless Saudi’s 5-0 and then beat Egypt 3-1.
If Mohamed Salah had have been fully fit, it’s possible Egypt may have pushed Russia closer in the group, but it wasn’t to be, and even a 3-0 defeat to Uruguay couldn’t halt Russia’s progress.
The hosts weren’t expected to make it past Spain on Sunday. A place in the last-16 was a respectable return for a team many regarded as one of the worst in the history of Russian football. Yet, they will now play either Croatia or Denmark for a place in the last-four of the World Cup after knocking Spain out on penalties in Russia.
SPAIN ARE OUT!!! 😮😮😮 #WorldCup https://t.co/pXDdCsHqf4
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) July 1, 2018
The game finished 1-1 after 90-minutes, and the two couldn’t be separated after extra-time either. Spain were ponderous in possession and struggled to break down a deep Russian defence. Such was Spain’s dominance of the ball, they recorded over 1,000 passes. Vladimir Granat, who came on for Russia in the 46th minute, attempted to make five passes, but didn’t complete a single one of them.
It was that type of game.
Vladimir Granat has been on since half-time. He's attempted four passes and completed none of them. One of the great World Cup performances.
— Jonathan Wilson (@jonawils) July 1, 2018
Russia deserve credit for their resilience and discipline, but it’s not a victory most neutrals will celebrate.
They’re not particularly good to watch and Spain at their best are a significantly better team. Russia also got several fortunate breaks in their win. The decision not to give Spain a penalty in the last-minute was difficult to understand, as Russian defenders were clearly dragging the jerseys of both Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique. Igor Akinfeev was quite far off his line when he saved the decisive penalty from Iago Aspas.
Russia’s turnaround in form has also been remarkable.
It’s difficult to get too misty-eyed about the Russian team’s success, but Eaman Dunphy reckons their journey to the quarterfinals has had a fairytale quality that fans should savour.
Dunphy, who has criticised the Republic of Ireland for playing negative football, praised a Russian team on RTE who appeared to play for penalties from the first kick of the ball on Sunday.
Russia's fairytale adds to what's been a great tournament, believes Eamon Dunphy https://t.co/8fTGWbkrAV #RTEsoccer #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/bYHL1sFguX
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) July 1, 2018
