Russia are the surprised team still left in this competition even though the entire competition is full of surprises. The host nation are the lowest ranked team in this competition yet they are in the quarterfinals while the likes of Spain and Portugal have already been sent home.
They started their campaign with 5-0 bashing of Saudi Arabia before winning Egypt 3-1 in their next group game. Their last group game ended in a 3-0 loss for them against Uruguay to pair them with Spain in the round of 16. They beat the Spaniards on penalty after the regular time and extra time had failed to produce a winner.
The Russians would be hoping to emulate South Korea at the 2002 World Cup by reaching the semifinals here as the host nation.
Croatia were not considered one of the favourites to win this World Cup when the draws were made, but after two group games it became apparent that they could be up to something special. They beat Nigeria 2-0 in their opening group game before beating Argentine 3-0 in their next match to confirm their qualification to the next round.
In their round of 16 game against Denmark, they went a goal down very early but responded superbly by equalizing almost immediately, but the two teams could not find a winner until penalties when Ivan Rakitic tucked in his penalty to win the game for the Croats.
They come up against not just the Russian starting eleven in this game but against the entire nation and it would interesting to see how they perform.
