Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov believes the World Cup hosts' shock victory over title contenders Spain on penalties following a 1-1 draw in the last 16 on Sunday "is only the beginning". Captain Igor Akinfeev saved two penalties as Russia triumphed 4-3 in a dramatic shootout in Moscow to reach a first quarter-final 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 each converted penalty, and his saves from Koke and Iago Aspas, were greeted with a deafening roar from a crowd of 78,011 at the Luzhniki Stadium. Russia were largely expected to just make up the numbers at their own tournament after entering with a seven-match winless run and ranked the lowest of the 32 teams.