Spain looked good, not great in the first round. Russia started off hot, but were brought back to earth by Uruguay in the final group game. Spain were favorites because they're Spain. The knockout stages is where anything can happen because teams play a more tighter style. It's one and done, so you can't take too many chances. Both teams played this game pretty conservatively.

At 12', Sergei Ignashevich thought it would be a great idea to just tackle Sergio Ramos in front of the net on a free kick to the right of goal. The ball bounced off Ignashevich's leg and went in the net. Neither player knew what was happening. If it hadn't been a goal, it surely would have been a penalty kick for Spain. At 41', Gerard Piqué was called for a hand ball. Artem Dzyuba converted to tie the game. The chances were few for the rest of the game. Andrés Iniesta had a great shot at 85' that was just turned away buy Russian goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev. The game ended tied after extra time so it had to be decided by penalties.

Russia won 4-3 on penalties.
Spain - Iniesta (made), Piqué (made), Koke (saved), Ramos (made), Iago Aspas (saved)
Russia - Fyodor Smolov (made), Ignashevich (made), Aleksandr Golovin (made), Denis Cheryshev (made)

Spain goes home and Russia moves on. It's probably the right result. Spain wasn't anything special in this game (or the tournament). You can't underestimate the power of a host nation. That had to give Russia a bit of a boost. Russia await the winner of Croatia and Denmark.

Diego Costa was absolutely worthless in this game. I sometimes forgot he was even on the field, yet it took Fernando Hierro eighty minutes to take him off. Iniesta and Piqué retired after the game. It was the right decision. It's time for this Spain team to go through a bit of a transition. They have plenty of young players waiting in the wings.