Artem Dyuba's penalty following a Gerard Pique handball had earlier cancelled out Sergei Ignashevich's own goal
HOST nation Russia was in rapture as their unfancied side knocked out Spain - and blew England’s side of the World Cup draw wide open.
The Three Lions are now the only previous world champions in their section, increasing prospects of a run all the way to the final here at the Luzhniki Stadium in two weeks’ time.
Russia were rank outsiders at the start of the tournament but keeper Igor Akinfeev saved spot-kicks from Koke and Iago Aspas to send the much-fancied Spanish crashing out.
Until the late drama this was largely an antidote to the World Cup fever which has been sweeping the globe in recent days.
Russia parked the tank, Spain passed the ball around with little discernible purpose and the two goals scored were both scruffy.
First a freakish 12th-minute blunder from the unfortunate Sergey Ignashevich.
Nacho won a free-kick on the right, Marco Asensio - in for Iniesta - crossed to the back stick where the 38-year-old Russian centre-half was grappling with Sergio Ramos as the ball went in off the back of his heel.
For much of the next half-hour, Russia struggled to get the ball off Spain but there was always a threat if the hosts could win a set-piece.
When they forced a corner four minutes before the break, Artem Dzyuba won a header which struck the arm Gerard Pique was holding aloft.
Bjorn Kuipers’ decision to point to the spot was harsh but probably right - and Dzyuba sent David De Gea the wrong way.
Spain’s dominance of possession was still failing to amount to much and on the hour the two players who’d been surprising omissions - Russia’s Denis Cheryshev and Spain’s Andres Iniesta - were thrown into the mix.
Cheryshev was left out after being forced to deny, at the pre-match press conference an accusation that he’d been injected with growth hormone at his club Villarreal.
Yet dark theories about Cheryshev being left out of the starting line-up seemed to be disproved by his arrival, in place of Alexander Samedov.
Spain finally forced keeper Igor Akinfeev into meaningful action with a double save on 85 minutes as he pushed away an Iniesta drive followed by a rebound effort from another Spanish sub, Iago Aspas.
In the second period of extra-time, Spain’s fourth sub, Rodrigo, out-paced his marker and forced Akinfeev into another save.
Russia survived a VAR scare when Pique and Ramos were both floored in a wrestling bout from a Koke free-kick.
But with Russia flawless in the shoot-out Akinfeev saved the third Spanish effort from Koke and kept out Aspas’ fifth with his feet to spark bedlam in a 78,000 crowd.
