In one of the largest upsets in World Cup history, hosts Russia defeated Spain on penalty kicks Sunday, knocking one of the favorites out of the field and sending the tournament into chaos.
Spain were surprisingly underwhelming throughout the game, which Russia got a first-half penalty to level things up before ultimately going through 5-3 after both Koke and Iago Aspas failed to convert from the spot during the shootout.
Naturally, Twitter went wild with stats and reaction. There was the fact that this was the largest upset in the history of the World Cup knockout rounds and third-largest overall.
Largest upset in knockout stage in World Cup history
3rd-largest upset in any World Cup match in history
— Ryan Feldman (@TheRyanFeldman) July 1, 2018
Russia gave up an own goal but still essentially eliminated Spain with one shot on goal and 5 penalty kicks.
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) July 1, 2018
Given Russia’s rather controversial history of doping at an international level, jokes were made that the Russians were getting a little bit ahead of the game.
meldonium is a hell of a drug
— Ty Schalter (@tyschalter) July 1, 2018
Russia also has a rather controversial role in global politics, and people were quick to make jokes about that after their win.
It’s just Putin’s World (Cup) and we’re all living in it.
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) July 1, 2018
Mussolini's Italy hosted 1934 World Cup. Winner: Italy. Argentina's Military Junta hosted 1978 World Cup. Winner: Argentina. Putin's Russia host 2018. Is this the moment we all realized exactly who is going to win the bloody thing? ????????
— roger bennett (@rogbennett) July 1, 2018
Many reacted with excitement at what Spain’s defeat does to their side of the bracket, ensuring that there will be at least one World Cup finalist who hasn’t been successful in the competition for a long, long time.
Guaranteed to have a World Cup finalist that hasn't been there in at least 50 years.
Russia (no finals)
Croatia (no finals)
Denmark (no finals)
Sweden (1958 finalist)
Switzerland (no finals)
Colombia (no finals)
England (1966 winner)— Nick Zaccardi (@nzaccardi) July 1, 2018
And with favorites falling anywhere, some joked that perhaps the United States’s failure to qualify wasn’t so bad after all.
Spain and Germany each won the same number of knockout stage games as the United States. So, there ya go.
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) July 1, 2018
Between this and Germany’s elimination, it’s been a truly wild World Cup. Who knows what else it holds.
