Russia was so close to giving their home fans lifelong memories as they headed into extra time in the quarter-final against Croatia. Against the odds, they put together a very impressive run of performances, with several players catching the eye and potentially gaining themselves transfers to big European clubs.
They made the world sit up and watch after their opening match against Saudi Arabia had been labelled the most boring fixture to kick off a World Cup tournament (prior to the match). They soon made people eat their words, as they swept Saudi Arabia aside in a 5-0 rout. Further great performance followed, as they beat Mo Salah’s Egypt and qualified for the next round. Perhaps the biggest shock of the competition then came as they disposed of Spain in a penalty shoot-out to win a quarter-final place against Croatia.
Russia are out but fans will be enjoying the rest of the World Cup games
Despite losing to Croatia in a penalty shoot-out, Russia has given their fans plenty of great World Cup memories and the local fans are still enjoying the action now that their team is out. However, whether they will be supporting Croatia is another matter. Given the political undertones between England and Russia, it was largely expected that the hosting nation’s fans would side with Croatia.
Team Croatia’s pro-Ukraine greeting
However, Russia fans were not happy when Croatian player Domagoj Vida celebrated with a pro-Ukrainian greeting. FIFA gave Vida a warning as a consequence but the act has riled many Russian fans, with some saying that they now want England to win instead. Former Croatia player Ognjen Vukojevic (who was part of the coaching squad) was sacked for his part in the pro-Ukraine comments that were shared on social media.
So even though relations between Russia and England are tense, Russians may still feel that England are the lesser of the two evils!
