Although Russia made it further at this year's World Cup than most anyone expected, it was Croatia that advanced to the semifinals with a 4-3 shootout victory Saturday following a 2-2 draw.
The overachieving hosts, the lowest ranked team in the tournament at No. 70, we're trying to make it to the World Cup semifinals for the first time since the Soviet Union finished fourth at the 1966 tournament in England.
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| Croatia's Andrej Kramaric celebrates his side's opening goal during the quarterfinal match between Russia and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Fisht Stadium, in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Darko Bandic) |
"I left everything on the field and unfortunately we were unlucky,"
says Russia midfielder Roman Zobnin. "We gave everything we could." At 1-1 in the penalty shootout, Russia defender Mario Fernandes missed his shot—only the second player to miss in any of the four shootouts at this year's World Cup. The teams then traded two scores each before Ivan Rakitic calmly scored the winning penalty.
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| Russia's Denis Cheryshev celebrates after scoring his side's first goal during the quarterfinal match between Russia and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Fisht Stadium, in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Pavel Golovkin) |
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| Russia's Alan Dzagoev reacts at the end of the quarterfinal match between Russia and Croatia at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Fisht Stadium, in Sochi, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) |
England will play Croatia in the semifinals in Moscow on Wednesday.
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| England's Harry Maguire celebrates victory of his team over Sweden at the end of the quarterfinal match between Sweden and England at the 2018 soccer World Cup in the Samara Arena, in Samara, Russia, Saturday, July 7, 2018. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) |
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