<p class="title">Russia's last World Cup game against Uruguay brought the overachievers down to earth with a thud. Their next one against Spain might just send them over the moon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hosts play their most important match in three decades when they face the 2010 champions in Moscow on Sunday in the last 16.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They are making their first appearance in the World Cup knockout stages in the post-Soviet era as the ultimate underdogs -- Spain have not lost a match in two years while Russia entered the tournament without winning a game in eight months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The last competitive match between them saw the Spaniards prevail 3-0 in the semifinals of Euro 2008.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We want to perform a minor miracle," said Russia forward Artem Dzyuba. "We want to give our supporters an even bigger present."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The month-long extravaganza has always been about much more than football to Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hosts are spending a record $13 billion to put on a show that projects Putin's vision of Russia as a global power that has regained its Soviet might.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia's stadiums were meant to wow the crowds. Its football team was not.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And then it did.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The men in red kicked off the tournament in Moscow's 80,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium -- the crucible of Soviet and Russian sport -- with a 5-0 thumping of Saudi Arabia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The performance, including two goals from midfielder Denis Cheryshev, made a mockery of Russia's ranking as the tournament's worst team.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But it also came against lowly opposition and left many feeling a sense of relief that their lowly Sbornaya were not embarrassed on the world stage.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia's 3-1 defeat of Mohamed Salah's Egypt raised more eyebrows.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The win came with its own caveat: Salah was not at his best after a shoulder injury he suffered in Liverpool's Champions League loss to Real Madrid.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yet Russia really were looking better than advertised. The number of fans who thought they might actually win the whole thing edged up from 11 to 14 percent.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And then came last Monday's 3-0 defeat to Uruguay in a game that decided who finished first in Group A.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Welcome back, Sbornaya!" said one sardonic tweet when the score was 2-0 and Russia were down to 10 men.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I finally recognise my team," another quipped.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The number of Russians who still thought their team could become champions promptly fell to six percent.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia now return to the Luzhniki for the Spain encounter, with no one seemingly certain about how good they are.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A victory would be a famous one. A defeat would only confirm doubts that have surrounded the team since the Soviet Union's collapse.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Soviet Union reached the last 16 at the 1986 tournament in Mexico, losing 4-3 to Belgium in extra time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A similar result against Spain would see the Russians leave the tournament with their heads held high.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are simply delighted with making it out of the group," local organising committee chief Alexei Sorokin said.</p>
<p class="title">Russia's last World Cup game against Uruguay brought the overachievers down to earth with a thud. Their next one against Spain might just send them over the moon.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hosts play their most important match in three decades when they face the 2010 champions in Moscow on Sunday in the last 16.</p>.<p class="bodytext">They are making their first appearance in the World Cup knockout stages in the post-Soviet era as the ultimate underdogs -- Spain have not lost a match in two years while Russia entered the tournament without winning a game in eight months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The last competitive match between them saw the Spaniards prevail 3-0 in the semifinals of Euro 2008.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We want to perform a minor miracle," said Russia forward Artem Dzyuba. "We want to give our supporters an even bigger present."</p>.<p class="bodytext">The month-long extravaganza has always been about much more than football to Russian President Vladimir Putin.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The hosts are spending a record $13 billion to put on a show that projects Putin's vision of Russia as a global power that has regained its Soviet might.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia's stadiums were meant to wow the crowds. Its football team was not.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And then it did.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The men in red kicked off the tournament in Moscow's 80,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium -- the crucible of Soviet and Russian sport -- with a 5-0 thumping of Saudi Arabia.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The performance, including two goals from midfielder Denis Cheryshev, made a mockery of Russia's ranking as the tournament's worst team.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But it also came against lowly opposition and left many feeling a sense of relief that their lowly Sbornaya were not embarrassed on the world stage.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia's 3-1 defeat of Mohamed Salah's Egypt raised more eyebrows.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The win came with its own caveat: Salah was not at his best after a shoulder injury he suffered in Liverpool's Champions League loss to Real Madrid.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Yet Russia really were looking better than advertised. The number of fans who thought they might actually win the whole thing edged up from 11 to 14 percent.</p>.<p class="bodytext">And then came last Monday's 3-0 defeat to Uruguay in a game that decided who finished first in Group A.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Welcome back, Sbornaya!" said one sardonic tweet when the score was 2-0 and Russia were down to 10 men.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I finally recognise my team," another quipped.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The number of Russians who still thought their team could become champions promptly fell to six percent.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Russia now return to the Luzhniki for the Spain encounter, with no one seemingly certain about how good they are.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A victory would be a famous one. A defeat would only confirm doubts that have surrounded the team since the Soviet Union's collapse.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The Soviet Union reached the last 16 at the 1986 tournament in Mexico, losing 4-3 to Belgium in extra time.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A similar result against Spain would see the Russians leave the tournament with their heads held high.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We are simply delighted with making it out of the group," local organising committee chief Alexei Sorokin said.</p>