FIFA World Cup 2018 Last 16: Russia, Croatia beat Spain, Denmark in penalties

Wednesday, July 4, 2018

On Sunday, Spain lost to Russia 4–3 in the penalty shootout while Croatia defeated Denmark 3–2 in the penalty shootout in the FIFA football World Cup in the Last 16 knockout phase. Both the matches were 1–1 at the end of added time.

Spain v Russia

Spain took on hosts Russia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Spain had greater ball possession. Spain got an early lead shortly after the 10th minute when Sergei Ignashevich scored an own goal. In the 40th minute, Spanish defender Gerard Piqué was yellow-carded for a handball in the penalty area and Russia was awarded a penalty kick. Artem Dzyuba scored from the spot kick, sending Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea in the other direction, equalising for Russia before the halftime. Isco and Diego Costa attempted goal before the half-time whistle, but the attempts were blocked or stopped. The first half ended with 1–1 on the scoreboard.

Early in the second half, Jordi Alba had an attempt from Marco Asensio's assist but was saved. Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Iago Aspas and Andrés Iniesta had attempts to put Spain back in the lead, but were unsuccessful. The second half ended without and goals and the match went to extra time.

The extra time saw Dani Carvajal and Rodrigo Moreno also making attempts for goals but the match went on to penalties to separate the two sides. For Spain, Iniesta, Piqué, and captain Sergio Ramos scored the goals while Koke and Aspas failed to score from their kicks. Fyodor Smolov, Sergei Ignashevich, and Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin scored their penalty kicks. Denis Cheryshev scored the winning goal for Russia.

Spanish midfielder Iniesta retired from international football after the match.

Croatia v Denmark

Croatia faced Denmark at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium and had greater ball possession. The Danish side opened the scoring in the first minute when Mathias Jørgensen scored a close-range shot from Thomas Delaney's assist. But Denmark's lead did not last long as Mario Mandžukić equalised for Croatia in the 4th minute. Both the sides had multiple attempts and misses for the goal. The first half ended with 1–1 on the scoreboard.

The second half remained goalless and the match went to additional extra time. In the 116th minute, Croatia had a penalty kick as Ante Rebić was brought down in the penalty area. Luka Modrić took the penalty kick but was saved by the Danish goalkeeper. The extra time ended 1–1.

In the penalty shootout, Denmark's Christian Eriksen and Croatia's Milan Badelj's kicks were saved. Simon Kjær and Michael Krohn-Dehli scored their kicks for Denmark while Andrej Kramarić and Luka Modrić scored their kicks for Croatia. Both the sides were 2–2. Denmark's Lasse Schöne and Croatia's Josip Pivarić's kicks were saved. Jørgensen's kick was saved by the Croatian goalkeeper and Ivan Rakitić scored the winning penalty kick for Croatia as they advanced to the quarterfinals.



July 1, 2018
1700 MSK (UTC+0300)
Spain 1–1 (a.e.t.) Russia Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia
Attendance: 78,011
Referee:   Björn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Sergei Ignashevich   11–12' (o.g.)
Gerard Piqué   40'
Andrés Iniesta  
Gerard Piqué  
Koke  
Sergio Ramos  
Iago Aspas  
(3–4) (penalties) Artyom Dzyuba   41' (pen.)
Ilya Kutepov   54'
Roman Zobnin   71'
Fedor Smolov  
Sergei Ignashevich  
Aleksandr Golovin  
Denis Cheryshev  

July 1, 2018
2100 MSK (UTC+0300)
Croatia 1–1 (a.e.t.) Denmark Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Attendance: 40,851
Referee:   Néstor Pitana (Argentina)
Mario Mandžukić   4'

Milan Badelj  
Andrej Kramarić  
Luka Modrić  
Josip Pivarić  
Ivan Rakitić  
(3–2) (penalties) Mathias Jørgensen   1'
Mathias Jørgensen   115'
Christian Eriksen  
Simon Kjær  
Michael Krohn-Dehli  
Lasse Schöne  
Nicolai Jørgensen  


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