Spain and World Cup hosts Russia go head-to-head in Moscow for a place in the quarter-finals
Fernando Hierro's Spain are strong favourites to progress, but have an appalling record against host nations
Spain have played hosts eight times at major championships and have lost every single time
Russia came into the tournament with low expectations, but handsome wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt booked a quick-fire last-16 spot and raised hopes that Russia could achieve something special
SPAIN vs RUSSIA NOT BOTHERED… 13:40: Fernando Hierro is doing equivalent of putting his fingers in his ears when presented with this statistic
I do the exact same thing when confronted by the doctor about my BMI. Anyway, he doesn't want to hear about Spain's horrible history of playing the hosts of major tournaments
"Records are there to be broken," Hierro said when he was told Spain have never beaten a host at the World Cup or European Championship
"We have everything very clearly in mind. Why are we looking in the rear view mirror? Why are we looking at the past? It's all about tomorrow
Everything else is completely irrelevant." HAVE YOUR SAY 13:35: If you want to vent your frustrations, or discuss any issues in the world of football (within reason), then get in touch! You can either comment at the bottom of the page or contact me via Twitter using the hashtag #ExpressSport
WELCOME 13:30: Hello everyone, welcome to our LIVE coverage of the World Cup. Two down, six to go… Portugal and Argentina became the first two nations to be eliminated in the knockout stages with Uruguay and France booking their places in the quarter-finals
And yes, that means we've said goodbye to Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. But let's not cry about it (again) because It's time for someone new to shine on the world stage
Spain's performances so far have been decidedly average for a team of its talent, but Russia have exceeded expectations
Let's get started!
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