Following a 2-2 draw after 120 minutes, Russia lost 4-3 on penalties in the quarter-finals against Croatia on Sunday morning, with Smolov failing from the spot.

"There is a lot of criticism of my friend Fedor Smolov. He wanted to do his best, but it is football, and people are prone to make mistakes," Seleznyov wrote on his Instagram.

Reaching the last eight was Russia's best result in the World Cup since long before the break-up of the Soviet Union.