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B Before football came home, he had to stop at the beach. Russian fans had one last chance on Sunday night to savor a team that had already broken all their expectations for this tournament. And they did it again in a sweet-and-sweet valerie in the dream city of Vladimir Putin at the seaside.
All the best stories are coming of age, and Russia seemed grow up every game, learning to a skeptical public still believe that they would not suddenly embarrass them, that this time things would be different.
Everyone here asked the same question: where did this side come from? Pressing a more talented Croatia team, snapping sublime curlers 25 yards, tilting the head in the equalizer in the 115th minute?
"Guys! I'm proud of you! I love you! Savor this moment!" Shouted striker Artem Dzyuba in a fiery speech that reflected the emotions of a just nation before Russia came out on penalties.
Long before that time, fans were beginning to believe as well
"Cheryshev hit that one like Ronaldo!", said Semyon, 23, who s He was still amazed at the surprise of the left wing while he was catching snacks at halftime. "Oh my God, could you imagine that he could do that?" [19659003] "I think England should be worried about confronting us," said Anton Sashnikov, in anticipation of the semi-final clash that was finally not going to happen. "Our guys play with intensity, they really want to win. I do not think England will be able to follow. "
There is more in common between fans of England and Russia than either would like to admit, a complex that boils down to believing will lose his man or his leg a penalty .. Both have found redemption at this year's World Cup
"And from there, there is only one game left and we are the champions" said Sashnikov smiling, as he dared to tell him that it was improbable 19659003] Saturday's match was the reason why many people take the trouble to go to football. If you looked at the Fifa ranking, there was no question that should have won.But in the end, it was a slight tension and tears that came after the heartbreaking defeat of Russia were more due to frustration than to conviction
<img class = "gu-image" itemprop = "contentUrl" alt = "Mário Fernandes, de R ussie, returned to his teammates. 19659013] The Russian Mário Fernandes returns to his teammates after missing penalty shoot-out. Photography: Michael Regan / Fifa via Getty Images
"If Modric's penalty had gone up a few inches," a fan grumbled down the steps, listing a series of other counterfactuals that could have given Russia victory.
All fairy tales are not happy
Everywhere in Russia, fans have filled the bars, pubs and fan areas of the World Cup to witness the unlikely push of the team in the semifinals. In Samara, where England had beaten Sweden to oppose the winners of Russia to Croatia, the vast fanzone was closed because it was packed, and crowds overflowed with restaurants and bars with screens, seeking desperate to see the action
At Na Dne, a brewery near the banks of the Volga, the interior was full and moist, and a crowd of a hundred people jostled one another to see through the filthy panes, encouraging their team. After Cheryshev's first goal, a man fell to the floor and shouted: "Stanislav, I'm sorry to have doubted you," referring to the widespread disdain before the tournament for coach Stanislav Cherchesov. There were scenes of joy when the unexpected equalizer was scored, and groups of men threw their beers in the air and screamed with excitement.
But after Croatia reigned over the penalties, there was a shocked silence. go home, calm and depressed.
Outside the stadium in Sochi, there was something like a dialogue. "Smolov is a fool!" Shouted a teenager. "Hey, do not curse our guys, they gave everything tonight," said a middle-aged man with a ponytail and continues his way. "Igor Igor Akinfeev! Oh!" Screams another man. "Igor, come here, I'd like to say a word to you," yelled a woman, playing the disappointed woman, staggering in the street in heels. For some, this involved a long walk along the rocky shore of Sochi, perhaps with an ice cream bar sinker or a midnight swim in the Black Sea. And for some, it is sending home your wife and your two daughters and spilling some in a summer cafe that sells grilled meats and the unfiltered local beer.
Aleksandr, who refused to give his name Conduit three days in Sochi in his Toyota Highlander Khanty-Mansiysk, where he owns a security company, for a beach vacation with his family. He had neglected until the last minute to tell his wife that he had also bought a ticket for Saturday's match.
"She was not happy with that," he admitted
but the match was worth it, he said, despite the cost of the ticket, the days spent behind the wheel and marital conflict. 19659003] "I think it's as far as we were allowed to go," he said, suggesting that all of this is decided from the top. "What would Russia do in the semi-finals at a World Cup? So I can understand why we lost, but you know I just hoped that this time, maybe we would move on." through. "
Additional report of Shaun Walker at Samara
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