“Huge thanks to Russia for playing at this tournament in Russia,” Medvedev said on his official Instagram page.

The quarter-final encounter finished 1-1 after the 90 minutes, which sent the match into extra time.

Domagoj Vida gave his side the lead in the 101st minute, but Mario Fernandes produced an equalizer to send the game to penalties.

Croatia’s Ivan Rakitic converted the winning penalty to send Croatia into the last four, where they will face England at Moscow’s Luzhinki Stadium on Wednesday.

Advancing as far as the quarter-finals is Russia’s best result at the World Cup since the break-up of the Soviet Union.