Russia reached the last eight for the first time since the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 after failing to do so in their previous three attempts.

The USSR, who claimed the fourth place in 1966, last made it to the World Cup quarter-finals in 1970.

"The guys gave us a great reason to celebrate. I watched (Artem) Dzyuba's interview, and his tears were precious. Now we believe that we have proper football in this country. Well done, guys! We could've done with even more reasons to rejoice, but the Russian national team did well anyway," Plushenko told journalists.

Dzyuba, who was playing at his first World Cup, could not hold back his tears during a flash interview minutes after Russia were beaten by Croatia on penalties in the last eight on Sunday morning.

Russia are hosting its first-ever FIFA World Cup, with the final set to be played at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium at 01:00am (AEST) on Monday morning.