Russia vs Argentina: 5 talking points

#2 Igor Akinfeev rises to the occasion

Igor Akinfeev: The Russian hero of the day

On an otherwise no-great-shakes evening for the hosts, Igor Akinfeev stood out. The custodian kept them in the game until the final few minutes in what was one of his career-best performance.

The 31-year old first kept out an effort by Di Maria in the first real move by the visitors, but truly set the tone for a fantastic evening with a stunning one-handed save to deny Aguero from 20 yards out early in the first half, as Argentina fired a slew of shots to threaten the home team.

Akinfeev was once again called into action by Aguero at the stroke of half-time and once again, the CSKA Moscow custodian made no mistake as Russia went into the break level with Argentina courtesy solely of their No.1.

Messi got the better of him post the interval with a lovely chip, only for a watchful Konstantin Rausch to clear the line. However, Akinfeev soon regained his footing as he parried Aguero's effort over the bar in another lethal move by the Latin Americans.

Some misfortune towards the end of the game aside, Akinfeev dispatched a goalkeeping masterclass of the highest order, something that would even have Iker Casillas or Gianluigi Buffon proud.