The host nation, Russia, opened this World Cup like world beaters, easily dispatching with Saudi Arabia, 5-0. Then as a follow-up, they dominated Egypt 3-1, to become the first team, along with Uruguay, to clinch an elimination round spot.
But then, the host country was itself humbled by a solid 3-0 defeat at the hands of Uruguay, and it seemed to be the sobering reminder that Russia entered this tournament as the lowest ranked team in this World Cup.
But that did not matter yesterday, as Russia returned to magical results, eliminating heavily-favored Spain in the process.
Then, Croatia - one of the few teams with a perfect record remaining in this World Cup, managed to hold on and eliminate Denmark.
Both games went to extra time, and then, both games remained undecided, so had to be decided with penalty kicks - the first such games in this World Cup tournament.
Let's take a closer look at the two elimination games from yesterday:
Russia 1, Spain 1 (Russia advances with a 4-3 win in the penalty shoot-out):
Sergei Ignashevich own goal in the 11th minute.
Artem Dzyuba
Koke had missed on Spain's third penalty kick, giving Russia a chance to capitalize. Russia's Aleksandr Golovin made the subsequent shot, to give Russia the advantage. Sergio Ramos made the next one for Spain to tie it up temporarily at 3-3 in the fourth round of kicks, but Denis Cheryshev got the next goal to put Russia up, 4-3.
Then, it all came down to the next shot, which Spain absolutely needed to convert. But Iago Aspas missed the final penalty kick for Spain, sending Russia to the quarterfinal round, and sending his own side home. After the match, he announced his retirement.
With the win, Russia qualified for the quarterfinal of a World Cup for the first time since the end of the Soviet Union.
For Spain, this is the third consecutive defeat in a game that went to penalty kicks. They lost to Belgium in 1986, and to South Korea in 2002. This loss to Russia makes it three times in a row that Spain has lost games decided by penalty kicks.
Meanwhile, host nations have now won five straight penalty kick matches. The last time that a host nation lost a penalty kick shootout was Italy, when they lost to Argentina in the 1990 World Cup.
Croatia 1, Denmark 1 (Croatia advances with a 3-2 win in the penalty shoot-out):
Croatia remains perfect in this tournament, but just barely.
This time, they really had to sweat, before just eking out a victory in the end, once the game went to penalty kick shootouts. That happened because most of the game was bogged down in a defensive struggle.
However, it did not look like it was going to be a mostly defensive contest through the first four minutes or so.
Mathias Jørgensen scored a shockingly early goal in the first minute to put Denmark up 1-0 incredibly early. It was the quickest goal thus far in this World Cup.
But Croatia answered quickly themselves, when Mario Mandžukić got the answering goal for Croatia in the 4th minute, tying the game up, 1-1. It was only the second time in World Cup history that both teams scored within the first four minutes of play.
After that came the defensive struggle that lasted for the duration of the match, including the two extra time sessions. That, of course, meant that this game, like the earlier one, would be decided in a penalty kick shootout.
Both of the goaltenders were magnificent in the penalty kick round. Kasper Schmeichel and Danijel Subašić were simply awesome in blocking multiple shots each during the penalty shootout.
In the end, it came down to the final round of kicks for each team. Both teams had seen the opposing goalkeeper block two of their shots, which meant it was tied at 2-2. But Subašić guessed right and managed to block Denmark's Nicolai Jørgensen shot, which gave Croatia a shot to clinch the win if they could concert the last shot. Croatia's Ivan Rakitić mnaged to do just that, hitting a shot that came within inches of Schmeichel's foot, but still nevertheless cruised to the back of the net for the goal and the win.
Denmark, with this loss in the shootout round, lost their second ever penalty kick shootout in international tournaments, having lost to Spain in the 1984 Euro semifinal. However, they won a 1992 penalty kick shootout against Netherlands.
With the win, Croatia qualifies for their first quarterfinal since their impressive run to third place back in the 1998 World Cup in France.
But then, the host country was itself humbled by a solid 3-0 defeat at the hands of Uruguay, and it seemed to be the sobering reminder that Russia entered this tournament as the lowest ranked team in this World Cup.
But that did not matter yesterday, as Russia returned to magical results, eliminating heavily-favored Spain in the process.
Then, Croatia - one of the few teams with a perfect record remaining in this World Cup, managed to hold on and eliminate Denmark.
Both games went to extra time, and then, both games remained undecided, so had to be decided with penalty kicks - the first such games in this World Cup tournament.
Let's take a closer look at the two elimination games from yesterday:
Russia 1, Spain 1 (Russia advances with a 4-3 win in the penalty shoot-out):
Sergei Ignashevich own goal in the 11th minute.
Artem Dzyuba
Koke had missed on Spain's third penalty kick, giving Russia a chance to capitalize. Russia's Aleksandr Golovin made the subsequent shot, to give Russia the advantage. Sergio Ramos made the next one for Spain to tie it up temporarily at 3-3 in the fourth round of kicks, but Denis Cheryshev got the next goal to put Russia up, 4-3.
Then, it all came down to the next shot, which Spain absolutely needed to convert. But Iago Aspas missed the final penalty kick for Spain, sending Russia to the quarterfinal round, and sending his own side home. After the match, he announced his retirement.
With the win, Russia qualified for the quarterfinal of a World Cup for the first time since the end of the Soviet Union.
For Spain, this is the third consecutive defeat in a game that went to penalty kicks. They lost to Belgium in 1986, and to South Korea in 2002. This loss to Russia makes it three times in a row that Spain has lost games decided by penalty kicks.
Meanwhile, host nations have now won five straight penalty kick matches. The last time that a host nation lost a penalty kick shootout was Italy, when they lost to Argentina in the 1990 World Cup.
Croatia 1, Denmark 1 (Croatia advances with a 3-2 win in the penalty shoot-out):
Croatia remains perfect in this tournament, but just barely.
This time, they really had to sweat, before just eking out a victory in the end, once the game went to penalty kick shootouts. That happened because most of the game was bogged down in a defensive struggle.
However, it did not look like it was going to be a mostly defensive contest through the first four minutes or so.
Mathias Jørgensen scored a shockingly early goal in the first minute to put Denmark up 1-0 incredibly early. It was the quickest goal thus far in this World Cup.
But Croatia answered quickly themselves, when Mario Mandžukić got the answering goal for Croatia in the 4th minute, tying the game up, 1-1. It was only the second time in World Cup history that both teams scored within the first four minutes of play.
After that came the defensive struggle that lasted for the duration of the match, including the two extra time sessions. That, of course, meant that this game, like the earlier one, would be decided in a penalty kick shootout.
Both of the goaltenders were magnificent in the penalty kick round. Kasper Schmeichel and Danijel Subašić were simply awesome in blocking multiple shots each during the penalty shootout.
In the end, it came down to the final round of kicks for each team. Both teams had seen the opposing goalkeeper block two of their shots, which meant it was tied at 2-2. But Subašić guessed right and managed to block Denmark's Nicolai Jørgensen shot, which gave Croatia a shot to clinch the win if they could concert the last shot. Croatia's Ivan Rakitić mnaged to do just that, hitting a shot that came within inches of Schmeichel's foot, but still nevertheless cruised to the back of the net for the goal and the win.
Denmark, with this loss in the shootout round, lost their second ever penalty kick shootout in international tournaments, having lost to Spain in the 1984 Euro semifinal. However, they won a 1992 penalty kick shootout against Netherlands.
With the win, Croatia qualifies for their first quarterfinal since their impressive run to third place back in the 1998 World Cup in France.
No comments:
Post a Comment