Croatia vs Russia Review

Russia 2-2 Croatia  (3-4 on penalties)

Hosts Russia's remarkable World Cup run has ended in heart-break, after a  quarter-final defeat on penalties to Croatia, who bounced back from a late extra-time equaliser to set up a last-four meeting with England.
Defender Mario Fernandes, brought his side back level through a header in the 115th minute, yet missed what proved to be the decisive spot-kick, with Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic making no mistake to send his team into the semi-finals.
Immediately after he saw his penalty hit the net, Ivan Rakitic was mobbed by his team-mates a repeat of the scenes following Croatia's last-16 shootout victory over Denmark.
Despite their defeat, the home fans broke into applause as they cheered their beaten side long and loud following the final whistle,  in recognition of their achievements against the odds.
Fedor Smolov missed the first kick with a weak Panenka effort that was easily stopped by Danijel Subasic, while his opposite number Igor Akinfeev stopped one kick, with a fabulous low save from Mateo Kovacic
But in the end that was irrelevant. As was the stunning goal that gave Russia the lead in this, their first quarter-final appearance since 1970 and the days of the Soviet Union.
That goal came through another Denis Cheryshev first-half curler from outside the box, his fourth goal of the tournament and one of the finest at this World Cup. 
But only eight minutes later an Andrej Kramaric header, in the midst of poor Russian defending brought Croatia level, and after the break Ivan Perisic saw a low shot crash against the post and out across the face of goal as Zlatko Dalic's team began to control the game. 
They did however, only lead for the first time when Domagoj Vida's header found its way into the net through a crowd of players in the first half of extra time.
After Fernandes' late equaliser from an Alan Dzagoev  free-kick, the midfielder was making his first appearance as a substitute since suffering injury in Russia's opening game. The momentum, you would have assumed would be with Russia. 
Man of the Match - Luka Modric 
Luka Modric

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