World Cup 2018: 4 reviews of the quarter-final matches

#4 Russia vs Croatia

The Croatians beat the resilient Russian side

The glory hunting hosts Russia with quite brilliant performances in this World Cup losing stubbornly to a talented and hard working Croatian team captivated millions of fans not only in the homeland, but also worldwide.

The joy on the fans’ faces in the stadium after their 115th minute equalizer from Mario Fernandes did not last long, as the penalty shoot-out to broke their hearts. This Russian team made it further at this year’s World Cup than what was expected.

On the other hand, it is Croatia who reached their World Cup first semi-final after a long gap. Only the shoot-outs separated the two teams after 120 minutes of pulsating game of football.

Denis Cheryshev gave Russia the lead in the first half with a brilliant long-range curling shot which was cancelled by a Andrej Kramaric header just before half time. With Vida heading Croatia to the lead in extra time, it was left to Mario Fernandes to equalize for an exciting end to the game.

After a decisive miss by extra time hero Mario Fernandez, it was down to Ivan Rakitic to score the winning kick and send the Croatian fan’s into a frenzy.

After a certainly tiresome game, all Croatia can do is to recover well for their semi-final match. We congratulate Russia for giving the performance their fans deserved.