FT: Spain out of the world cup in penalties: Spain vs Russia 2018 World Cup

FT: Spain are put of the World Cup after Koke and Iago Aspas missed their penalties in the shootout. Ramos and his teammates never created enough chances to deserve the win and Russia defended quite comfortably. Spain are out.

HT: Spain are not creating quality chances against a solid Russia team. Spain managed to score the opening goal but wasted the lead late in the first half after Piqué conceded a penalty. They will need more creativity to win the game.

Russia starting XI: Akinfeev; Kutepov, Ignashevich, Kudryashov, Fernandes, Zhirkov; Kuzyaev, Samedov, Zobnin, Golovin and Dzyuba.

Spain Starting XI: De Gea, Nacho, Ramos, Piqué, Alba, Busquets, Koke, Silva, Asensio, Isco, Costa.

Spain have never knocked the hosts of a World Cup and they’ll be facing Russia today, so they will have to change their own history if they want to succeed in the tournament. They are considered the heavy favorites to win the game, but Spain have not been very impressive throughout the tournament and were only a few inches away from missing the knock-out stage when the new VAR system allowed a goal by Iago Aspas initially called offside.

Fernando Hierro’s men have conceded plenty of chances and their defensive system looks very shaky at the moment, so they will have to fix that against a strong and physical Russia team which could potentially give Spain some issues through counterattacks and crosses.

Hierro is not expected to make many changes even though press and fans alike have been asking to bench both Andres Iniesta and David Silva. Koke will most likely start in the midfield to give the team a physical boost.

HOW TO WATCH, STREAM 2018 WORLD CUP

Date: 07/01/2018

Time: 15:00 CET, 10:00am EST, 07:00am Pacific.

Venue: Moscow, Russia.

Available Streaming: Fubo.tv, Telemundo Deportes (USA), LiveSoccerTV.