Here's the hero! Igor Akinfeev was the man who won it for Russia. Very good in normal and extra time. Incredible in the shootout. akinfeev saved spot-kicks from Koke and Iago Aspas, while all four Russians scored.
Russia’s captain and goalkeeper Igor akinfeev used his trailing left foot to kick the ball high away from the goal on Spain’s last attempt by Aspas. The veteran goalkeeper leapt up, punched the air with both hands and leapt into a surfing, belly flop dive on to the rain-soaked turf as teammates raced to him from the halfway line.
Finally Russia laughs, smiles the whole MOSCOW and smiles whole Russia, the hero of Russia's laugh said,
“I just feel emptied out,” Akinfeev said. “Over the whole second half and extra time we were defending our goal and managed it, we were hoping for penalties because Spain are hard to beat. Spain can’t always be lucky.”
MISS! Koke becomes the first man to miss from the spot as Akinfeev gets down to make the stop. 2-2.
Brought some stability to the centre of midfield, dealing well with attempted Russia counterattacks. Safe and sound, but not penetrative, in possession. His poor penalty in the shootout gave Akinfeev a straightforward save and ultimately helped to send Spain home.
Hosts Russia, the former world champion, reached the final round after losing the tiebreaker. When finished 1-1 at the scheduled time, the game will play in extra time. No team could score goals in extra time. So the timbreaker is determined to be the fate. Russia, where two spots from Spain kick past the goalkeeper, win the match by 4-3.
