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#3 Russia 1-1 Spain (4-3 shootout win for Russia)
Nobody – I repeat: nobody – expected Russia to beat Spain in the round of 16. Despite the fact that Spain have never beaten the hosts of a World Cup or Euro in that very tournament, Spain were expected to run over the Russians.
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From the very beginning, Russia’s plans were clear: to take the game to the penalty shootouts. When Spain scored from an own goal, Russia's plans took a hit but they somehow got lucky and made a comeback – thanks to a moment of foolishness from Gerard Pique.
Spain tried a lot to get back into the game but made way too many unnecessary back and side passes. In the 30 minutes of extra time, they did manage to get a few chances but failed to convert them.
Russia got what they had hoped for as the penalty shoot-outs ensued and Akinfeev managed to take the hosts to the quarter-final by saving two shots in the shootout while De Gea – supposedly the best goalkeeper in the world for many – just made clueless dives to his right and let Russian takers score easily.
