How hosts Russia knocked Spain out of 2018 World Cup
Jul 01, 2018
Russia beat former champions Spain to storm the quarterfinals
2018 WORLD CUP - KNOCKOUT STAGE
Live reporting by Joseph Kizza
@joekizza
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79min SUBSTITUTION - Spain
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
The Red make their third and final substitution.
Diego Costa, who had appeared industrious at the beginning of this second half, is off and on comes Iago Aspas.
A Spain goal looks inevitable. But the Russians look dangerous whenever they surge forward. They haven't had a shot yet in this half.
75min Iniesta in the thick of things
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Hehasn't been on for more than 10 minutes and Andrew Iniesta is already a menace at the heart of the Russian goal.
73min Solid Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
The Russians, ever rallied on by their fans, have proved to be impenetrable at the back.
The Spaniards, however, are controlling the game.
70min YELLOW CARD - Zobnin (Russia)
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
For his cynical challenge, Roman Zobnin is flashed the yellow card.
Naughty.
Into the last 20 minutes of this game.
69min SUBSTITUTION - Spain
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Spain make another change.
Nacho hobbles off and on jogs Dani Carvajal.
66min SUBSTITUTION - Spain
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
And speaking of fresh pair of legs, Spain bring on veteran pair of legs in the form of Andres Iniesta.
The Spaniard takes some few more sips of water before exchanging guard with Manchester City forward David Silva.
Both sets of crowds are willing their players on.
64min SUBSTITUTION - Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
That hosts exhaust their substitution slots. Goalscorer Artem Dzyuba is given a huge applause by the home crowd as he trots off the pitch.
Fedor Smolov is the fresh pair of legs that replaces him.
60min SUBSTITUTION - Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Denis Cheryshev comes on for Alexander Samedov. That is Russia's second change. One more left.
58min No way for Spain
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
It is 52 years since Russia (or the USSR) won a World Cup knockout stage game. The last one was a 2-1 win over Hungary in 1966.
Against Spain here, the hosts will be credited for defending well.
56min CLOSE! - Isco (Spain)
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
That was a good run by Isco, who gives his minders a hard time on the left flank before trying to slot into the path of the Russian goal.
His effort is blocked for a corner.
Isco has been directly involved in 12 goals in his last 15 international matches for his nation, in which he has scored 10 and assisted two.
53min Vociferous crowd
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
When Russia make a break towards the Spanish half, the crowd erupts into life.
The crowd is vociferous as well as deafening.
49min Diego Costa inching close
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
The Atletico Madrid striker has quite a presence in front of goal.
He has twice come close to restoring his side's lead in this half. He will require more precision if he is to plant the ball behind home keeper Nauel Guzman.
47min Iniesta warming up
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Spain's Andres Iniesta has not seen the net in a major tournament since scoring the winner at the 2010 World Cup final against the Netherlands.
He started on the bench in today's game, but he is seen warming up with fellow players.
Fernando Hierro is undoubtedly thinking of bringing him on any time soon.
KICKOFF! - Second half
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
And we are back for another 45 minutes of knockout football.
Moments before kickoff, Russia made a change. Vladimir Granat came on in place of Yury Zhirkov.
I should remind you that we MUST get a winner here. It cannot end in a draw.
5:57pm HALF TIME
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Russia are yet to beat Spain in 27 years (losing four times and drawing twice). Their most recent meeting was in November last year in a friendly. They shared the spoils in a 3-3 draw.
Those three goals by Spain in that draw I have mentioned in the previous entry were among the 10 that The Red have netted against Russia in their last three meetings. The seven came during two matches at the Euro 2008.
HALF TIME - It's all even
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Well, that was fast. And interesting.
Action comes to an end - for now - inside a fired-up Luzhniki Stadium.
45min TWO MINUTES OF ADDED TIME
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
We shall have two additional minutes of play in a game that has been, for lack of a better word, topsy-turvy.
Spain were in control for large periods of the game, but now find themselves dragged back to the drawing board by a resilient Russian side.
This is a World Cup of surprises. Are we about to see more from that script?
43min Unwanted trend for De Gea
(Spain 1 Russia 1)
Spanish goalkeeper, who plays for Manchester United, has now conceded six goals from seven shots on target at this competition.
Blemish!
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 42min GOAL! - Russia
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39min PENALTY! - Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
Gerard Pique is the culprit and the Spanish defender is yellow-carded.
A cornerkick is delivered into the Spanish box, lanky Artem Dzyuba rises highest to head into the goal but Pique's hand is in its path.
The referee points to the spot, all the while ignoring protests from the Spanish players.
That is the 26th penalty of this tournament.
38min CLOSE! - Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
Koke makes a hush clearing inside the box as the Russians make a push for an equaliser seven minutes before the break.
Freekick for the hosts.
35min CLOSE! - Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
David de Gea is drawn into a rare stretch here by Aleksandr Golovin, who once allowed space near the Spanish edge, attempts to score the goal that Edinson Cavani scored against Portugal Saturday night.
His curler is not on target though.
30min Golden Eagles playing positively
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
By the way, at the group stage, Spain completed as many as 2,089 passes they had attempted (2,294). That was the highest as this tournament.
Here in Luzhniki Stadium, against a more direct Russian side, The Red, are still excelling in that department.
27min Golden Eagles playing positively
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
The hosts are beginning to advance more, in pursuit of a level before the break.
At this tournament ahead of today's clash, they had the least number of goalscoring chances created - 18. In contrast, Spain had created 24 more chances.
But the Russians' optimism may be catalysed by the fact that Spanish goalie David de Gea has conceded from each of the first four shots on target he faced at this World Cup edition in Russia.
23min Rare appearance for Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
Russia are ranked top for winning aerial challenges at this World Cup.
But they fail to make that advantage count when they allow Spain to deal with a freekick whipped into the box by Alexander Samedov.
The Russian crowd is still willing their side on. Belief is key here.
20min Rare appearance for Russia
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
Spain have reached the World Cup quarter-finals on five previous occasions.
In contrast, since the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991 (when I was just five), the Golden Eagles have played in the knockout stage of a major tournament only once.
17min Possession kings
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
We all know how Spain love to keep their ball. In fact, since the beginning of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, The Red have registered more than 50% ball possession in 32 of their 33 games at major tournaments.
Beat that!
At the moment, they are doing what they do best. They have 75% of the ball versus Russia's 25%.
14min Oldest scorer of World Cup own goal
(Spain 1 Russia 0)
Sergey Ignashevich is now the holder of an unwanted record at the competition. At 38, the Russian has become the oldest scorer of an own goal at the World Cup.
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12min GOAL! - Spain
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07min Home crowd fired up
(Spain 0 Russia 0)
In the buildup, Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov admitted that it is hard to deal with the Spanish kind of football but that they would try to.
So far, his side are trying to contain their more illustrious opponents - and I must say, they are not shabby at all.
04min Home crowd fired up
(Spain 0 Russia 0)
Spain have dominated the opening three minutes of this game, but that is not hushing the home crowd.
Every time Russia gains possession, the crowd volume goes two notches higher. Aleksandr Golovin makes a break on the right flank but he won't go past Gerard Pique, who sticks out his leg to block for a corner.
Alexander Samedov whips in the corner but the Spaniards do good defending to clear any lingering danger.
02min Masters of possession
(Spain 0 Russia 0)
So we are at the stage of the tournament where you are playing for a win or defeat. Lose, and you are out. Beat your opponent and you advance.
KICKOFF! - First half underway
(Spain 0 Russia 0)
And it is game on!
Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers is handling today's game.
It is The Red versus the Golden Eagles.
Notably, Andres Inieta is on the bench for Spain.
4:56pm LINEUPS - Russia
(Spain v Russia at 5pm)
The hosts have chosen a 5-3-2 formation.
STARTING XI: Akinfeev, Kutepov, Kudriashov, Ignashevich, Fernandes, Zhirkov, Samedov, Zobnin, Kuziaev, Dzyuba, Golovin
4:55pm LINEUPS - Spain
(Spain v Russia at 5pm)
Spain are going with a 4-2-3-1 formation.
STARTING XI: De Gea, Nacho, Alba, Pique, Ramos, Koke, Sergio, Silva, Isco, Asensio, Costa
4:53pm Welcome to Moscow!
(Spain v Russia at 5pm)
We are at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow for this evening's game.
Home expectations in full force.
Can Russia produce a major upset here?
4:50pm Here we are once again!
(Spain v Russia at 5pm)
The World Cup tournament has taken a plunge into the deep waters, and as sure as day and night, we have had some casualties.
Two of the sport's greatest footballers have not buoyed to the surface on the other end of this tricky pool. Lionel Messi's Argentina and Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal were both knocked out of the competition by France and Uruguay, respectively.
Shall we see any other BIG victims of this ruthless yet loveable sport?
We have Spain and hosts Russia meeting in the next few minutes to see who progresses to the quarter-finals.
Don't forget to refresh this page for updates.