Now hosts in line for Lions

Controversy

This was Russia’s first-ever win in a World Cup knockout game as an independent nation, their last coming as the USSR back in 1966. And now the lowest-ranked nation at the finals is in the last eight.

It was not without controversy. Spain called for a VAR review of Pique’s handball and demanded an extra-time penalty for fouls on the Barcelona star and Sergio Ramos at a set-piece.

But the rules were followed in each case as Pique’s arm was in an unnatural position, while both he and Ramos were committing fouls themselves during the second incident. It means Spain’s unbeaten run, from PAUL BROWN in Moscow which stretched all the way back to Euro 2016 when they lost to Italy, is now over, and coach Fernando Hierro took the blame.

Hierro, who only took the job after Julen Lopetegui was controversially sacked just before the tournament, said: “I am not going to blame other people. I accepted the responsibility and I will shoulder it.”

Hierro kept faith with David De Gea but the Manchester United keeper will have nightmares about this tournament.

He bows out of this World Cup having conceded six goals from seven shots.

And he has now failed to save his last 14 penalties in a row, a record dating back almost two years. Hierro also left talisman Andres Iniesta out of his starting XI, the first time the Barcelona legend had failed to start in a tournament game for his country since 2010.

Iniesta, who has joined Japan’s Vissel Kobe, later announced his retirement from international football, saying: “This was my last game for Spain. A marvellous chapter has ended.”

So Russia, who had been written off as no-hopers, are in the quarter-finals for the first time since 1970, and the home fans in a raucous, ear-splittingly loud 78,011 crowd loved every minute of it.

Akinfeev said: “It’s been beautiful football. Maybe we didn’t attack that much but you can’t do that against Spain.

“Thank God we were lucky, that’s it. “I don’t think I am the man of match. The fans are our man of the match.”

Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov said: “It’s clear that it has never been this way, that so many favourites would lose so early.

“But this is football. What can I say?”