Russia suffered a heart-breaking loss in the World Cup quarter-final, losing on penalties to Croatia after a gripping 2-2 draw.

The tournament hosts had fought back admirably after going behind in extra time, but the lottery of spot-kicks went against them after they had won their previous shootout against Spain.

Here’s how the players rated individually.

STARTING XI

Igor Akinfeev 6 – Will wonder how he was beaten for Croatia’s second, though it was a finely-placed header. Could do nothing for the first goal. Made a good save in the shootout.

Mario Fernandes 7 – A willing runner up the right flank and some of his passing was sublime. It’s a shame his penalty miss will be remembered more than his goal.

Ilya Kutepov 7 – A largely reliable presence at the back, and his ability to produce inch-perfect long-balls over the top was a crucial part of Russia’s attack.

Sergei Ignashevich 7 – As ever, a solid performance from Russia’s Mr. Dependable. Scored a nerveless penalty.

Fedor Kudryashov 6 – Russia’s left-back had his hands full as Modric, Vrsaljko and Rebic overloaded his flank. With that in mind, he held his own.

Daler Kuzyaev 6 – Didn’t look overawed against Croatia’s midfield, although some of his passing could have been better.

Roman Zobnin 7 – A solid display in midfield from Zobnin, who looked comfortable against Croatia’s Modric-Rakitic axis.

Aleksandr Samedov 5 – A performance of great effort but little telling impact. His passing wasn’t at its best and he didn’t contribute enough in attack.

Aleksandr Golovin 5 – A strangely quiet performance after a strong start to the tournament. What was even stranger was that the 22-year-old – Russia’s best striker of a dead ball – didn’t take a penalty in the shootout.

Denis Cheryshev 8 – The Valencia man added to his collection of picture-perfect goals with a wonderful first-half strike. Faded as the game went on, but that was to be expected given the energy he was expending.

Artem Dzyuba 7 – As ever, a bruising presence leading the line, and his work to set up Cheryshev’s wonder-strike was superb. His calm head was missed during the shootout, as he’d already been taken off by then.

SUBSTITUTES

Aleksandr Erokhin 6 – A solid contribution after coming on as a substitute, although the winger was needed more defensively than in attack.

Fedor Smolov 5 – His penalty was utterly woeful, and it perhaps set the tone for the rest of the shootout as Russia came up short.

Yuri Gazinsky 6 – Brought on towards the end of normal time and did his best to provide stability in midfield as his teammates began to tire.

Alan Dzagoev 8 – A perfect delivery to set up Russia’s extra-time equaliser. Exactly the sort of impact he was brought on to make.