Russia’s Artyom Dzyuba, front, and Spain’s Sergio Busquets compete for the ball during an elimination match at the World Cup on Sunday in Moscow. The match was tied 1-1 after regulation and extra time, but Russia advanced to the quarterfinals after winning a penalty-kick shootout 4-3.MOSCOW – Stretching every part of his body out into a star shape and diving to his right, Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev flicked out his left foot and kicked the ball high away from danger.
With that determined play, he kept the host nation’s party going, ended the international career of one of Spain’s biggest stars and sealed the biggest upset yet of this World Cup – and one of the greatest in the history of soccer’s quadrennial showcase.
Akinfeev made two saves during the shootout Sunday, and all of his teammates who took penalty kicks scored to give Russia a 4-3 advantage after a draw that was dominated by Spain in every way but the 1-1 score. Russia, the lowest-ranked team in the tournament at No. 70 in the world, is stunningly moving on to the quarterfinals.
Russia will face Croatia at 2 p.m. EDT Saturday in Sochi, and millions of Russian fans, many of whom were mocking this team just a couple of weeks ago, are jumping loudly on the bandwagon.
“We’re hosting a fantastic tournament,” Akinfeev said. “I think our fans and foreign fans have recognized that we’re a country that can play football and organize big events.”
Akinfeev’s winning save against forward Iago Aspas made the national stadium in Moscow shake with the roar of 70,000 Russians celebrating their team’s best World Cup run since 1966, when it was still playing under the banner of the Soviet Union.
It was a shocking end for Spain, which joined former champions Germany and Argentina in elimination. Still, World Cup history was on Russia’s side after its well-organized team survived two hours of barely having the ball. Russia extended a streak of World Cup hosts winning shootouts to five. Brazil, France, Germany and South Korea have also won shootouts since 1998.
Akinfeev, the 32-year-old captain who played his 111th game for the national team, made sure of it.
With Spain going first, the shootout was poised at 2-2 when Akinfeev dived to his right to push away a kick by midfielder Jorge “Koke” Resurreccion, who lifted his shirt over his eyes in dismay.
Russian penalty kickers were perfect against Spain’s struggling goalkeeper, David De Gea. After Akinfeev acrobatically blocked the left-footed shot of Aspas, he leapt up, punched the air with both hands and belly flopped onto the rain-soaked turf as teammates raced to him from the halfway line.
It gave Russia its greatest win in 10 years, dating to when Akinfeev was in goal for an extra-time victory over the Netherlands in a European Championship quarterfinal. That run was ended days later by Spain as it began an era of dominance.
Spain has now failed to win a knockout game at three major tournaments since it won Euro 2012, its third straight major title after Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup.
It was too passive a performance by the Spanish, who were ranked 10th and among the pre-tournament favorites. Turmoil erupted two days before the opening match, when the federation fired the head coach.
“It’s painful. There’s nothing else we can say,” team captain Sergio Ramos said. “We left our soul in the pitch.”
It is unclear if interim coach Fernando Hierro will continue in a job he did not seek before Julen Lopetegui was sent home. Lopetegui was fired because he didn’t tell Spain’s soccer leaders he had accepted an offer to coach Real Madrid after the tournament.
The defeat ended Andres Iniesta’s career with the team. The 34-year-old midfielder came off the bench and almost won the match with an 85th-minute shot saved by Akinfeev. Iniesta scored first in the shootout.
Spain was more urgent in extra time after being too patient for 90 minutes. Though Spain completed a World Cup game record with 1,029 passes, it rarely threatened Akinfeev’s goal.
Spain took a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute when Ramos helped force Russia’s Sergei Ignashevich into an own goal when his back was turned to the play. Ramos and Ignashevich got tangled up, and the ball went in off the Russian defender’s heel.
A defensive error let Russia equalize in the 41st minute after Gerard Pique’s raised arm blocked a header by Artyom Dzyuba. The ensuing penalty kick by Dzyuba, which fooled goalkeeper David De Gea into diving the wrong way, was his team’s only shot on target during the match.
“We’re insanely happy,” Dzyuba said. “We’ve given everyone a party, and we believed in ourselves to the end.”