MOSCOW, July 4 (Sputnik) - Russia's reaching the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals is a "great achievement" for Russian football and the country on the whole, Adviser to the President of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Alexander Mirzoyan told Sputnik on Wednesday.
On Sunday, Russia beat Spain in a penalty shootout to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since the end of the Soviet era.
"The FIFA World Cup quarter-finals are a great achievement for our country, for our football. We've made into the best eight teams in the world... Russia have shown that they can play the way they've planned," Mirzoyan said.
Stanislav Cherchesov's men are now set to face Croatia in the quarter-finals in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Saturday.
According to the adviser, the match against Croatia will be difficult for Russia regardless of the final score.
"I don't know how the match against Croatia will turn out, there are no easy games, all matches are tough even if the victory is overwhelming," Mirzoyan said.
The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the games being played across 11 Russian cities.
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