As expected, the match was held at the overwhelming territorial advantage of the Spaniards. "Furies rocha" always prefers not only to play the first number, but also completely deprive the opponent of the ball. Our players were ready for this scenario. Even before the game, the head coach of our team Stanislav Cherchesov waved at it with a hand, they say, let them take the ball themselves, the main thing is not to give the initiative. A few aphoristic utterances of Cherchesov, of course, found its embodiment on the field. Yes, Spain in the first half owned a football projectile 71% of the time. But a lot of dividends this opponent did not bring. His goal was a technical Spaniards scored after filing with a free kick, and not as a result of the draw combinations that we feared most. At the 12th minute Asencio hung on the far post, where Ramos won the fight against Ignashevich. The ball ricocheted from the foot of the Russians flew into the corner of the goal Akinfeev - 0: 1. Really dangerous our players were able to answer only in the 36th minute - midfielder Alexander Golovin received a pass at the corner of the penalty area and struck a blow to the execution, but a little inaccurate. However, after four minutes the Russians earned the right to a penalty. After filing a corner ball fell into the hands of defender Piquet, and the judge did not hesitate, pointed to the "point". Dziuba spread the goalkeeper and the ball at different angles - 1: 1. In the second situation did not change, Spain continued to press charges Cherchesova and a minute to the 70th already firmly settled in half the field of Russians. On the actions of the opponent was easy confusion. To the superiority of the rival in skill, our players countered persistence and discipline. How can I not remember the conventional phrase in football "order beats the class"? Only six minutes before the end of regular time, the favorite of the meeting almost came forward. Fresh Iniesta struck in the corner, but Akinfeev pulled him out literally from the "ribbon". All 90 minutes have expired - it came to overtime. In an additional 30-minute, the teams were already playing very tired, and the Russians were clearly running out of their last strength.

The Spaniards were also not iron and lost concentration from time to time. Because of this, even a curious thing happened around our penalty - two Spaniards collided with each other and fell off their feet. Nevertheless, is it worth saying that the opponent continued to crush? The opponent did not really want to bring the match to a penalty shootout, where the chances were almost equal. But it was necessary - 120 minutes of intense battle ended in a draw. In the 11-meter series,.