Everything You Need to Know About Day 17 of the World Cup

Day 17 of the 2018 FIFA World Cup started off with a major shock, as hosts Russia knocked out the 2010 champions Spain on penalties.

Croatia also booked their ticket for the next round with a penalty win over Denmark.

Here's a look at the day's action.

Results

Spain 1-1 Russia (Russia advance on penalties, 4-3)

Croatia 1-1 Denmark (Croatia advance on penalties, 3-2)

Lethargic Spain Get What They Deserve

Spain came into the first match of the day with a few question marks after a poor outing against Morocco, and the lack of creativity that hurt them in that contest doomed them against the Russians.

Football writer Karl Matchett summed it up nicely toward the end of the match:

An own-goal from Sergei Ignashevich and penalty strike from Artem Dzyuba were the only major incidents of note in regulation, and extra time didn't bring big changes. In the shootout, Igor Akinfeev saved Koke's and Iago Aspas' attempts, becoming a national hero in the process.

While it was hardly a great performance from the Russians, it will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest days in their recent football history. For Spain, it's a second consecutive embarrassing exit from a World Cup, and major changes are likely coming inside the national federation.

Croats Survive Scare

Like Russia, Croatia needed penalties to book their quarter-final ticket, their first at a world cup since 1998.

The favourites for this match were forced to chase early after Mathias Jorgensen found the back of the net, but Mario Mandzukic struck just minutes later.

The rest of the contest was a dull affair until the Croats won a penalty in extra time, only for Kasper Schmeichel to save Luka Modric's effort. The Dane would stop two more in the shootout, but his Croatian colleague Danijel Subasic did one better.

It wasn't pretty, but Croatia have made it through and will now be favoured to advance to the semi-finals, where they would meet England or Colombia.