Croatia 2:2 Russia (3-4 on penalties): Hosts get elimated as Croatia go through to the semis [Best tweets]

Russia’s dream came to a heart-breaking halt as they were knocked out by a spirited Croatia side on penalties.

The stage is finally set for the 2018 FIFA World Cup semi-finals as Croatia managed to edge past hosts Russia in a nail-biting penalty shootout. The game initially finished 1-1 after the regulatory ninety minutes but an action-packed extra time saw both teams scoring in each half but at the end, it was Croatia who once again showed incredible spirit to come out as winners of this contest.

After being pegged back just around the half-hour mark, through an extraordinary goal from Denis Cheryshev, the Croats managed to hit back quickly thanks to a header from Andrej Kramaric. However, the game evolved into a cat and mouse chase afterwards with both teams failing to dominate over one another as the game went into extra time.

Domagoj Vida’s strike in the 100th minute gave manager Zlatko Dalic along with millions of Croatian fans, a sigh of relief. But just when it seemed like Hrvatska are on their way to seal a ticket for the semifinals, on came Mario Fernandes with a thumping header, equalizing the score just five minutes from time.

Like the other penalty shootouts thus far in the tournament, this one went down to the wire as well with Rakitic’s convincing spot kick sealing Croatia a place in the semi finals.

Croatia managed to score four of their five penalties with Mateo Kovacic being the only one not to convert his spot kick. However, Fyodor Smolov and Mario Fernandes’ misses proved costly as Russia bowed out of the competition 4-3 via penalties.

And Twitter was filled with very interesting results to this highly entertaining clash and here, we pick out some of the best ones just after the outcome of the game.

https://twitter.com/fareastchanyeol/status/1015701337269469184

Some praised Russia for their amazing performance throughout the course of this tournament while also thanking them for hosting one of the best World Cups in recent memory.

https://twitter.com/slimarshalshady/status/1015702187509338112

https://twitter.com/DaveMcleanComms/status/1015702839291797504

Croatia’s president Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic, who was in attendence also caught some attraction along the way.

But, Cheryshev’s stunner was definitely the best moment of the match and Twitterati went crazy soon after his opener.

https://twitter.com/RkFutbol/status/1015668262032543744

https://twitter.com/OmVArvind/status/1015666786090602496

England legend Gary Lineker was also left astonished by Cheryshev’s breathtaking effort.

https://twitter.com/OmVArvind/status/1015665689955356672

However, Luka Modric, who was voted as the man of the match, exemplified the role of a leader with a exceptional performance against Russia. His work ethic, despite his growing age, was captivating and fans were modest enough to acknowledge that.

https://twitter.com/iamwytunes/status/1015703995548143616

https://twitter.com/RkFutbol/status/1015700317894213632

https://twitter.com/FCMaha/status/1015702421094486016