2010 World Cup Champions Spain failed to book a slot in the quarter finals of the 2918 showpiece after being dumped out by the hosts Russia in the round of 16 match on Sunday evening, the latter becoming the third nation to book a slot. Igor Akinfeev saved two spot-kicks as hosts Russia beat Spain 4-3 in a dramatic penalty shootout to reach the World Cup quarter-finals after their last-16 tie had ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.
Spain, unbeaten in their previous 23 games – became the latest big-name casualty to exit the tournament after Germany, Argentina and Portugal. The team however set a record for the most successful passes in a World Cup match in their clash against Russia. An early Sergei Ignashevich own goal had Spain on track to reach the quarter-finals, but Artem Dzyuba levelled from the penalty spot. Argentina held the previous record of 703 successful passes in a World Cup match against Greece in 2010, although Opta has only collected this data since 1966. Spain’s 779 passes smashed that record but they were unable to break the determined hosts down at the Luzhniki Stadium.
Eyes were largely on Andres Iniesta, Pique and skipper Sergio Ramos. The former who joined Japanese side Vissel Kobe in May after nearly two decades with Barcelona however was most likely playing in his last World Cup and he did not disappoint despite coming on as a substitute in the match against Russia, impressing against Portugal, Iran, and Morocco, leaving Argentina icon Maradona to purr over his seemingly effortless brilliance. “Iniesta is a total star,” he told said. “He plays with a tailcoat, wearing a suit, with dress shoes and has no problems.”
Maradona was however less convinced about Real Madrid’s Ramos, though, who Maradona believes is not as good as his Atletico Madrid rival Diego Godin. Ramos has since responded by saying Maradona is light years away from Lionel Messi as Argentina’s greatest ever player, and the 57-year-old is in no mood to go back on his assessment of the combative defender. “If Sergio Ramos wants, I apologise, but I will not change my purely football thinking,” he added. “He is a great player, he is a great captain, he can become a good leader, as we see in Real Madrid, but not a star player.
Iniesta’s step forward came in the 2010 World Cup final, as he found the back of the net in the 116th minute of extra-time to add the World Cup to the European Championship trophy that they had claimed two years earlier. Amid his celebrations, Iniesta revealed a shirt stating ‘Dani Jarque, always with us’, a moment which, he later explained, helped him to return from a very dark place.
Despite exit, Spain finished top of Group B ahead of Portugal, who were also eliminated on Saturday night by France, Iran and Morocco all of whom went crashing out of the showpiece. With the World Cup secured, Iniesta had won all but one prize that football has to offer – the Ballon d’Or. He would come close in 2012, when he was voted in third place, just behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, but the top prize ultimately escaped him.
Even without it, Iniesta will forever be known as one of football’s greats. Not only was he a key figure in one of the most dominant periods in Barcelona’s history, but he is also the embodiment of the club’s famed La Masia academy. It’s easy to forget that crippling homesickness could have brought an end to Iniesta’s career before it had started, but perseverance and determination would eventually make him into a household name.