I didn’t meet a fan who thought the host nation could progress but it was a fantastic experience to see Russia🇷🇺 hold and then defeat Spain🇪🇸 on penalties in front of such a cheerful and positive home crowd at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Igor Akinfeev has made reduntant any previous mistakes for the national team and his heroic saves gave a reward to his teammates’ for their careful defending against the 2010 world champions.

Sergio Ramos was amazing to watch at centre back because of his visibly high level of confidence in launching with great speed and power into challenges, whether having to cover ground first, or in close contact – including with vastly experienced defender Sergei Ignashevich to force home his side’s opening goal. He had similarly handled the much larger Artem Dzyuba operating as a target man, but the giant centre forward unsettled his centre back partner Gerard Pique into blocking his header with a handball resulting in a penalty, which he converted.

With a more conservative right-back in Nacho (initially) alongside left-back Jordi Alba and central midfield duo of Sergio Busquets and Koke comfortably providing a platform for possession, manager Fernando Hierro appeared to restrain any nerves and said little from the touchline. Stanislav Cherchesov was more agitated in engaging the crowd and urging his side to offer enough in attack to inhibit the favourites, and generate further set pieces to trouble their opponents.

The home side made substitutions earlier and their physical exertion was clear with the contrast at full time between the focus on the efforts of their physios to assist their players’ physical recovery to stay in the game during extra time, and the favourites’ talk on how they would crack the tiring opposition defence.

They had been unable to do so in ninety minutes, and Diego Costa had been substituted having had little space to operate in with his opponents so deep. However, they had began the process with introduction of Andres Iniesta who almost managed it with some moments of great poise and incision, in particular his well-directed shot forcing an astonishing save from a fully outstretched Akinfeev.

Starting the match with Marco Asensio offering more width instead to accompany playmakers Isco and David Silva had not appeared unwise initially. But in what proved his last appearance before his international retirement from La Furia Roja the Barcelona legend showed how much more effective he is at unlocking packed defences. He identified either incisive passes or darting runs with & without the ball, or moved the ball on when no opportunity presented itself, and crucially did so quickly & without telegraphing his plans – unlike his fellow playmakers with more of a preference for dribbling with their preferred foot.

The shock sacking of Julen Lopetegui before the tournament had not appeared to affect the side too severely based on their resilient opening performance against Portugal. But subsequent performances against Iran and Morocco indicated a reluctance to use with conviction their variety of attacking options to overwhelm opponents. Neither did they control possession so thoroughly that the opposition were unable to pose a threat to their defence, as the 2010 side did.

The hosts’ penalty resulting from one of their set pieces and an exit on penalties is a harsh punishment for such indecision. But World Cup 2018 as a whole benefits from the presence of the host nation, and the constant reminder that the favourites can be defeated.