Barney Ronay on Spain's exit from the World Cup
Read the match report on Russia's victory
There’s real irony, by the way, to the fact that Aspas’s decisive miss came from a shot that went straight down the middle, given that Spain had shown an almost perverse lack of directness for most of the game. And lo, Spain lost to hosts yet again.
In other news, you can rate the players here
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There are scenes of mass ecstasy in the Luzhniki Stadium and, no doubt, all over Russia. Their team is very limited but played with admirable determination and discipline - and Spain couldn’t muster any more classy attributes as the game chugged to a shootout. It was boring for long periods, though always tense, but none of that will bother Russia, who are into the last eight. And, yes, England’s path to the final has just got easier. In theory. Colombia will be smiling about this, too, of course. And everyone can be thankful for the drama of penalty shootouts, which made the sitting through the harrowing spectacle before that worthwhle.
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Russia win the penalty shootout 4-3!
Aspas takes a six-yard run-up and opens fire, straight down the midle ... and Akinfeev saves with his feet! The hosts have won! Spain are going home! Russia 4-3 Spain
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Cheryshev rifles a low shot into the net straight down the middle. Russia 4-3 Spain.
Ramos coolly scores. Russia 3-3 Spain.
Golovin fires low under De Gea. Russia have the lead! Russia 3-2 Spain
Koke’s shot is saved by Akinfeev. Russia 2-2 Spain
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Iganshevich slots it home. Russia 2-2 Spain
Pique slams a low shot in off the post. Russia 1-2 Spain
Smolov, despite an unconvincing run-up, sends it past De Gea, who got a hand to it. He should probably have saved it. Russia 1-1 Spain
Iniesta scores, sidefotting into the corner after sending Akinfeev the wrong way. Russia 0-1 Spain
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Ramos win the toss. Spain will take the first penalty.
Full-time: Russia 1-1 Spain
The Russian crowd yelp in delight! Their team have held Spain at bay for 120 minutes. Can they complete the job and knock out their illustrious opponents to reach the quarter-finals? Will Spain try to pass from the spotkicks? Stay tuned for the denouement!
30+1 min: Rodrigo’s shot rom 20 yards skids along the grass. Akinfeev gets down to save.
30 min: Fernandes shepherds the ball out of play under pressure from Alba. The tension is palpable, but Russia are within seconds of the shootout they’ve been playing for since virtually the start.
28 min: Russia’s whole team are in their own third of the pitch. Spain probe and wriggle and pass and pant, but can’t find a way through.
26 min: Corner to Russia. The fans are on their feet, rain is hammering down, the noise is incredible ... and Golovin’s corner comes to nought.
25 min: No penalty! After reviewing the incident the officials decide that both players were interfering with each other. That’s right, in my book.
24 min: Spanish players charged towards the ref to demand a penalty after Pique is jostled in the box as he tried to reach a freekick from the right by Koke. The ref is consulting Var!
Et 22 min: The Russian substitutes are on their feet urging the crowd to cheer louder and harder. The home team are starting to wince under Spain’s renewed pressure. They need as much support as they can get.
ET 21 min: Granat makes a critical interception to cut out a pass to Aspas after another foxy break by Rodrigo, who has injected speed and boldness into Spain’s play. Will Spain snatch the win and deny the Russians their spin of the penalty roulette wheel?
ET 19 min: A lovely feint and turn by Rodrigo down the right, followed by a direct run into the box. So easy, so effective! And then he lets fly with a shot from a difficult angle. Akinfeev parries it and there’s chaos in the Russian box. Carvajal’s shot on the rebound is blocked and Russia survive.
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ET 17 min: Deep Van Dev points out that Spain have crossed the 1,000 pass barrier in this game. Their goal was scored by Sergei Ignashevich.
Half-time in extra-time: Russia 1-1 Spain
Russia are fifteen minutes away from having a shootout for a place in the World Cup quarter-finals. Spain have been obliging guests so far and there’s no sign of that changing.
ET 15 min: Golovin takes down Isco with a lunging tackle. He wins the ball but the studs were up, so several Spaniard rush to the ref to protest. That’s their most sustained attack of the game. And it’s as unsuccessful as the others, because the ref decides against showing Golovin a second yellow.
Spain substitution: Rodrigo on, Asensio off.
ET 12 min: Iniesta sends a long pass forward for Aspas after a rare Russian attack breaks down. The striker latches on to it and tries his luck from 18 yards. Ignashevich makes a decent block.
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ET 10 min: Aspas, in fairness has made a difference since his introduction, introducing a bit of zest and dash. He fought well for the ball just now before twisted away from his marker and feeding Asensio, whose shot from 20 yards was saved comfortably by Akinfeev.
ET 9 min: Just 21 more minutes to go before we get a meaningful shot. Hang in there. That’s pretty much all Russia are doing, too.
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Russia substitution: Erokhin on, Kuziaev off
ET 7 min: Koke has a bang from 35 yards. It flies high and wide but, on the other hand, is a very accurate summary of Spain’s lack of ideas.
ET 5 min: Isco’s pinged low cross from the right is hoked away by Ignashevich.
ET 4 min: Spain have increased the pace a tad! They’re no longer walking, rather there’s a bit of zip to their play and that’s making Russian defender strain a little. Better late than never.
ET 2 min: That’s more like it from Spain! Isco slipped a cute ball through to Carvajal, who pulled it back from the byline towards Aspas. A defender had to make an urgent intervention.
Remember, by the way, that new rules allow the team to make a fourth substitution in extra-time so Russia can still make a change. And they may need to given that a couple of their players seemed to be cramping up towards the end of normal time. Like a lot of spectators, I imagine.
Full-time: Spain 1-1 Russia
The home crowd clap: their team has succeeded in stifling Spain, who have been slow and beret of ideas. At times it looked like both teams are playing for penalties. Russia certainly are. Can Spain summon some ingenuity in the next 30 minutes? Can’t we just go straight to a shootout? Whoever eventually emerges from this torpor will face Denmark or Croatia in the next round, neither of whom will have feel they have anything to fear.
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90+2 min: Another mistake at the back by Spain gives Russia another attacking chance. Smolov at least gets off a shot this time but it never looked like waking De Gea.
90 min: The fourth official has indicated that the teams have four more minutes in which to save us from extra-time.
90 min: Iniesta flicks Isco’s corner on at the near post. Straight out of the tika-taka playbook, that one. Russia scramble the ball out for another corner.
89 min: Spain take a short freekick wide on the right. Isco’s then tries a cross but it’s diverted behind for a corner.
87 min: A mistake by Ramos in midfield presents Russia with a wonderful counter-attacking opportunity. The crowd squeal and yelp and jump to their feet. Smolov chugs forward and then mislays an attempted pass to Golovin, who was charging up in support to his right.
85 min: After a cross from the let Aspas plays a beautiful chest-pass back to Iniesta, who unleashes a shot from 20 yards. Akinfeev gets down smartly to push it away. It was a good effort on course for the bottom corner. Excitement!
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84 min: A stat has just flashed up on the screen. It says that Spain have had 711 passes to Russia’s 162. You can almost hear the watching world add “so what?!”
82 min: A corner to Spain. Isco floats one into the mixer. Two Russian defenders miss it. The ball falls to Busquets, who has a fresh-air shot from 10 yards. Good grief.
81 min: The concern here, of course, is that if there’s isn’t a goal soon, there’ll be extra-time....
Spain substitution: Aspas on, Costa off.
80 min: The Russian crowd are booing and whistling as Spain pass the ball around hoping a path to goal will open up. Feel free to lend your voice to the jeers.
78 min: Nothing has happened since the last entry, other than we all grew three minutes older. “Watching Spain is like being at a baggage carousel where your suitcase never arrives,” quips Jeremy Dresner.
75 min: Spain are so slow. They have no ideas. What we are seeing here is a stalemate between two sadly limited teams. “Intriguingly poised” is the technical term, I believe.
74 min: A Spain corner comes to nothing.
72 min: Koke tries to spread the play and does so to perfection , if his plan was to bring in one of photographers on the sidelines. At this point I’d just like to put it on record that it’s a real pity Morocco didn’t qualify ahead of Spain.
70 min: Golovin booked for a tackle from behind on Alba.
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Spain substitution: Carvajal on, Nacho off.
69 min: Russia take a breather to watch Spain knocking the ball around in midfield.
Spain substitution: Here’s Iniesta, a 34-year-old Vissel Kobe midfielder. He replaces Silva.
66 min: Golovin drives into the Spanish box and goes down in the vicinity of Ramos. But there was nothing untoward about it: he just slipped.
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Russia substitution: Smolov on, Dzyuba off. That’s a curious one: Dzyuba’s aerial power caused Spain problems on the few ocassions Russia attacked.
63 min: Cheryshev gets the ball for the first time, wide on the left. He knocks it past Ramos and runs into the defender, getting a freekick he didn’t deserve. If only there was time to sign a petition to get that overturned on Ramos’ behalf.
62 min: More banal passing from Spain.
Russia substitution: Cheryshev on, Samedov on. The home crowd very much approve of that!
60 min: A Nachos cross finds Silva but Silva’s header from 15 yards is feeble. “Isco and Silva are finding themselves in spaces between the Russian defensive lines but the other Spain players seem unable to find them with a telling pass,” observes Aidy Griffin. “They need Iniesta there to find them. None of the current lot seem capable.”
58 min: Costa drives to the byline and pulls the ball back for Isco, who had darted into the box. His shot is deflected out for a corner. He takes it himself and it’s headed away by Dzyuba.
56 min: A Russian corner yields absolutely nothing. “Marta: a wonderful footballer in an outstanding Brazilian team that played football as it is meant to be played and was a delight to watch; later to be out-muscled by the likes of USA and Germany,” says Patrick Philips on sidestrack. “I wonder what she’d make of England declining to play their best team against Belgium. World cups are often won by teams, not individuals, playing well together and knowing how each player plays. Ask Marta. The England team currently is no more than a collection of individuals. Playing well against a tiddler, Panama, is of little account. Colombia plays as a team - of grown-ups.” See Spain? See what happens when you play boring football? Readers start trying to turn the MBM into a debate about England.
53 min: Freekick to Spain wide on the left. Asensio’s delivery is rubbish. Russia try to counter but speedy Alba comes to Spain’s rescue.
51 min: Spain try a more direct approach, curling a high freekick into the area from the right. Pique wins the header and donks it several yards over the bar. Worth noting that he was able to outjump the defender without thrusting his arms above his head.
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49 min: The first-half pattern continues: Spain have the ball but are at a loss about what to do with it when confronted with massed Russian defence. “This is not pretty but tactically fascinating,” reckons Diarmuid Doyle. “Have Spain got another gear, and will Iniesta’s be the man to drive them to the last eight? Or will Russia break the siege and again crack the surprisingly brittle Spanish defence?” That’s what we’re here to find out.
47 min: A cross from the right sails over Costa’s head. Alba runs on to it but can’t adjust quickly enough to do anything other than shunt it towards a goal with his thigh. It’s an easy save for Akinfeev.
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Russia substitution: Granat on, Zhirkov off. Granat slots in central defence while Kudriashov will shift to the left.
What has Marta made of Neymar and Brazil so far in this tournament? Find out by reading here though right here:
Who doesn’t like footage of people jumping all over each other with joy? It’s like that everyday in Guardian HQ, and there were similar scenes in Moscow after that goal:
“Imagine what your media will be like if Spain lose tonight,” blurts Peng. “Seventy-two hours of dreaming of World Cup final before losing to Colombia?” Very possibly. But hey, listen to Blondie:
“That penalty decision means you can’t raise your arms to jump - totally absurd,” fumes Francis Mead. You can raise your arms to help propel your jump. You can’t raise an arm way above your and flap it in front of a striker as he’s about to shoot - if you do, and you block the shot, it’s blatant penalty.
Lots of emailers claiming that Pique’s handball could not have been deliberate because he had his back to it and was looking in another direction. The point is he knew who was behind him and where the ball was likely to go, which is where he put his hand.
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Half-time: Russia 1-1 Spain
There were times in that half when I was in danger of nodding off - when Spain were showcasing their Peter Ebdon approach to football - but Russia stayed awake and Spain crumbled at the first hint of real pressure. Dzyuba’s penalty has made this very interesting. Diego Costa’s sudden involvement in the last couple of minutes of the half gave suggested that Spain understood belatedly that they need to be more proactive to progress. And that could leave them more vulnerable to the hosts. Spain have always been vulnerable to hosts.
45+1 min: Costa is on the pitch alright! He’s just forced a couple of smart saves from Akinfeev, first from a shot on the slide from the right and them from a header after a cross by Isco.
44 min: Spain resume their passing game, slowly working it to Isco at he left-hand corner of the Russian box. He cuts inside and lets fly. But his curling effort hits Costa before getting close to the Russian goal. But at least it reminded us that Costa is on the pitch.
43 min: Russia file back int other shape that has kept Spain at bay for most of the match. They’re intent on getting to half-time, at least, on level terms.
GOAL! Russia 1-1 Spain (Dzyuba pen 41)
The big striker sends De Gea the wrong way and plants a low shot into the other corner. Scenes of ecstasy in Moscow! And game back on!
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Penalty to Russia!
38 min: Russia are on a roll! After a nice passing move, Fernandes sends a cross into the box and Koke deflects it behind for a corner. Samedov produces a good delivery. Dzyuba heads for goal ... and it’s blocked by Pique’s arm! The defender was only a yard away but thrust his hand into the air for no good reason so cannot plead innocence. That doesn’t stop him from pleading innocence, of course. But it’s a penalty!
36 min: Dzyuba knocks a long ball down to Golovin. He ducks and dodges and then feeds Zobnin at the edge of the box. Zobnin skips past one player and into the area before running into a wall. So he lays it back to Golovin, who jinks on to his left foot and curls a shot from 16 yards ... just wide! Encouraging for Russia - and neutrals hoping for a better spectacle.
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34 min: “Have Spain had a shot yet,” asks Cowardly Platypus. I don’t recall one. But they’ve had six million pass, some of them forward!
32 min: Better from Russia! Fernandes and Samedov combine down the right and briefly threaten to enter the Spanish box.
30 min: At times this isn’t so different to the last 15 minutes of the Japan-Poland game the other day. There’s a hint of despair creeping into the Russians, almost as if they’re thinking ‘why bother to press, they’ll just pass it around us’. So Spain are just knocking it about at their leisure.
28 min: Zhirkov eschews the cross into the box and another corner is wasted.
27 min: Russia’s running stats during the group phase were exceptional but they’re struggling to get close to Spain here. Having said that, they’ve just won a corner...
24 min: Isco tries to slip a ball through to the overlapping Alba. But it’s overhit - Isco’s first misjudgement of the match - and it runs out of play despite Alba’s sliding attempt to reach it at the byline.
21 min: Russia have the ball! The crowd go wild! The hosts even piece together a mini-move of their own. It ends as soon as they try to launch a cross towards the box.
20 min: ... Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass ...
17 min: Spain’s play at the moment can best be described as like my performance at a Mensa quiz. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass. Pass ....
14 min: Wonderful control by Isco, who takes down a pass by Alba with the sort of deftness you might see at the Bolshoi. He then gets mullered from behind with the sort of touch you might once have seen at Elland Road. The ref waves play on because Spain still have possession. There’s a fair chance they’re going to keep possession for the next 76 minutes....
12 min: Some own goals are unfortunate: that one was ludicrous. Ignashevich was not even looking at the ball nor trying to challenge for it fairly: he was intent solely on dragging Ramos to the ground and got what he deserved. Imagine trying to beat Ramos at skulduggery.
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GOAL! Russia 0-1 Spain (Ignashevich og 11)
Aesnsio curled over a lovely freekick towards the back post. Ignashevish tries to rugby tackle Ramos to the ground - but the ball bounces off the back of his heel and into the net from close range! Ramos gts to his feet and wheels off in celebration!
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10 min: Zhirkov penalised for clattering ito Nacho, giving Spain a freekick in an ideal crossing position wide on the right.
8 min: Russia’s plan is clear: they’re out to contain and squeeze Spain as much as possible and try to hurt them on the break. So far they’ve done the first part of that just fine, and Golovin has flickered on the break.
6 min: Everything for Spain is going through Isco so far. He’s shown some beautiful touches but Russia are deep and disciplined and have given up no hint of an opening so far.
4 min: Golovin beats Ramos to a ball down the right and then skitters down the wring and wins a corner. The crowd leap to their feet in excitement! But Samedov’s delivery misses all the big Russian lads who had piled into the centre. Mark that down as a waste.
2 min: The whistles from the home crowd begin as Spain start their patient probing. Alba tries to introduce a bit of directness into it but is dispossessed before he bursts into the box. “I think the naysayers have it wrong with Spain’s midfield changes,” barks Mike MacKenzie. “Hierro isn’t too worried about beating Russia and Iniesta can use a rest. And he gives Koke and Asensio a game to give Spain a different look which could be helpful later, if needed. Should give Spain an advantage for rest of tournament.”
1 min: Three, two, one ... we have kickoff! “I am not surprised that Iniesta is dropped,” snaps Øyvind Røed. “He doesn’t have the legs for a full match any more and binds up a substitution that could otherwise be used elsewhere. He would have to be significantly better than his alternatives to justify that handicap and I am not sure he is any more.”
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The national anthems are out of the way so it’s time for the players to do a few more stretches and consult in a quick huddle to check whether anyone has forgot what was said in the dressing room two minutes ago.
The teams are in the tunnel. But there are no use to anyone there so the ref orders them to get out on to the pitch. And what a greeting they get!
Cesc Fabregas, a-punditing on the Beeb, has been talking about the omission of Iniesta: “It’s a really big surprise. He’s so important to his team ... but Asensio gives more speed and goes up and down, up and down.”
The sun is beating down on the Luzhniki Stadium, which is of course full to its 81,000 capacity, with at least three-quarters of them bedecked in the colours of the home nation.
The non-inclusion of Cheryshev is a puzzler. He has been excellent so far in this tournament and was the player put up by the Russians for yesterday’s press conference - where he denied taking banned substances: he was asked about that because of quotes attributed to his father, Dmitri, in a Russian magazine this week. It will be interesting to whether Cheryshev is introduced from the bench at some point today.
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Russia’s formation of three centrebacks is not entirely new to them: indeed, they used it in a friendly last November against none other than Spain. That was a belter, finishing 3-3 and featuring a pair of penalties from ace marksman Sergio Ramos.
“Is it just me (jitters!!) or is Spain also showing signs of the wrongheaded decision-making of Jogi Loew,” wonders Latha. “The move to replace not one but two creative midfielders (Iniesta and Alcantara) speaks of some qualms about the need to stop Russia from scoring. Given their traditional style of play (which is fluid passing and attack), I thought if anything they should look for players who can create goals. Time will tell but boy it makes me nervous!”
Here’s an aggrieved Charles Antaki. “One less chance to see Andres Iniesta starting - pity. What’s odder is Koke for Alcantara; mechanic for surgeon, a bit; but it’s true that Koke is more selfless and does more defensive duty. If that means Busquets coming slightly forward, that might mean better passing into the penalty box… But still, no Iniesta!”
Teams
Alan Dzageov has recovered from the injury he suffered at the start of the group stages but begins here on the bench, alongside Cheryshev. Smolnikov is suspended following his red card against Uruguay. It seems the hosts have shifted to a formation with three centrebacks. Meanwhile, Spain’s novice manager Fernando Hierro has made three chances to the lineup that started their last group game. Nacho returns at right-back in place of Carvajal while Koke and Asensio come into midfield ahead of Iniesta and Alcantata.
Russia: Akinfeev; Fernandes, Kutepov, Iganshevich, Kudriashov, Zhirkov; Kuziaev, Zobnin, Samedov, Golovin; Dzyuba
Subs: Semenov, Cheryshev, Gazinskii, Dzagoev, Smolov, Lunev, Granat, Al Miranchuk, An Miranchuk, Gabulov, Erokhin
Spain: De Gea; Nacho, Pique, Ramos, Alba; Koke, Busquets; Silva, Isco, Asensio; Costa
Subs: Kepa, Reina, Carvajal, Iniesta, Alcantara, Odriozola, Azpilicueta, Niguez, Vazquez, Machado, Aspas
Referee: B Kuipers (Ned)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to another fascinating last 16 tie. The suspicion is that this is where reality will catch up with Russia and the hosts will be evicted from the tournament. If that happens, then at least they will have sweet memories of those walloping victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt and can be satisfied that they got farther than the 2010 hosts, South Africa, who were eliminated at the group stage. They may even be able to claim they did better than the 2014 hosts, Brazil, providing they go down with dignity rather than a 7-1 spanking (even if that was in the semis). But flip all that! Stanislav Cherchesov won’t have spent the build-up to this game talking to his players about honourable ways to lose – he’ll have been telling them to believe in victory. And a Russian victory is indeed possible!
Russia have played with tremendous energy so far and some of their players have shown real class – Aleksandr Golovin is suddenly on the wish list of clubs all across Europe, Roman Zobnin has been a powerhouse in midfield and Denis Cheryshev’s left peg has been Moscow’s biggest cultural attraction this summer outside the Bolshoi ballet. Spain may have played super football – perhaps better than anyone else in patches – but they have won only one of their three matches so far and suffered a serious scare against Morocco. And David De Gea seems to have been replaced by a doppelgänger in goal.
What is more, Spain have never had any luck against hosts. Since being ousted by Italy at the 1934 World Cup following a game-winning contribution from
Benito Mussolini
Giuseppe Meazza, Spain have faced the hosts eight times in World Cups or European Championships and never won – losing even to South Korea. And England! On Penalties! Looking that in that light, Spain are right up against it here. It’s on!
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