Russia, Croatia advance after shootout wins

Stretching every part of his body out into a star shape and diving to his right, Igor Akinfeev flicked out his left foot and kicked the ball high away from danger.

Akinfeev's foot kept Russia's party going Sunday night, ended the international career of one of Spain's biggest stars and sealed the biggest upset of the tournament and one of the greatest in World Cup history.

Four hours later, Danijel Subasic saved three penalties, and Croatia's World Cup hopes in the second straight shootout of the tournament. The Croats advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-2 victory over Denmark on penalties following a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

Akinfeev saved two shots during the shootout, while all of his teammates scored to give Russia a 4-3 advantage after a draw that was dominated by Spain in every way but the 1-1 score. Russia — the lowest ranked team in the World Cup at No. 70 in the world — is stunningly going to the quarterfinals to face Croatia on Saturday.