Russia on a roll and relishing ‘beginning of something bigger’
Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov believes the World Cup host’s stunning victory over Spain on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the last 16 on Sunday “is only the beginning” for his team.
Captain Igor Akinfeev saved two from the spot as Russia triumphed 4-3 in a dramatic shootout in Moscow to reach a first quarterfinal since the Soviet era, in 1970.
“I’m not the man of the match, the man of the match is our team and our fans,” said Akinfeev, after his saves against Koke and Iago Aspas were greeted with a deafening roar from a crowd of 78,011 at Luzhniki Stadium.
Russia was largely expected to just make up the numbers at the tournament after entering with a seven-match winless run and ranked the lowest of the 32 teams.
Cherchesov has masterminded a remarkable upturn in fortunes, with back-to-back wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt sparking a wave of national euphoria.
Russia’s players rode that support, and occasionally their luck, to recover from falling behind to a 12th-minute Sergei Ignashevich own goal.
Artem Dzyuba equalized with a penalty just before the break awarded for a Gerard Pique handball.
Russia’s defense then held firm as Spain dominated possession with a dizzying display of passing before the heroics of Akinfeev triggered wild celebrations in the rain. However, Cherchesov refused to get carried away and spoke like a man on a mission after his side booked a lasteight clash with Croatia, which later ousted Denmark on penalties.
“I believe that it’s only the beginning so I have to save my emotions for the future,” said Cherchesov, who at times gestured towards the crowd to lift the noise levels.
“Today we found the right place at the right time and we achieved the maximum we could.
“Now it’s over and I’m thinking only about the next game. These are very simple, not very sophisticated emotions.
“It wasn’t open football on our part. They are better than us in many ways so I don’t believe we should risk going forward, and I think we chose the correct tactic.”