Akinfeev鈥檚 鈥楩oot of God鈥 answers Russia鈥檚 prayers
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The World Cup joke around Russia is that goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev has the 鈥淔oot of God鈥.
Comparisons to the 鈥淗and of God鈥 goal Argentina great Diego Maradona scored against England in 1986 came naturally to Russians enraptured by the unlikely performance of their team.
Akinfeev had already won admiration for stopping two Spain penalties that sent the 2010 champion packing and Russia through to its first World Cup quarterfinal since 1970.
But his winning left-foot save against Spain鈥檚 Iago Aspas has some in the host nation thinking of the 32-year-old in even more reverential terms. 鈥淎kinfeev himself is a god,鈥 said his childhood coach Pavel Koval. 鈥淚 think Igor is better than (Spain 鈥榢eeper David) de Gea.鈥
This level of exuberance is relatively new terrain for a solid player with his share of bad luck.
During the 2014 World Cup Akinfeev palmed a soft shot in Russia鈥檚 opener against South Korea that somehow arched in over his head.
The Russians came back to draw the game but looked miserable walking off the pitch. They were eliminated two games later from what may have been one of the easiest groups in the draw.
Akinfeev鈥檚 personal misfortune came when he suffered a knee injury while negotiating a lucrative move from CSKA Moscow to England鈥檚 Premier League a decade ago. The deal fell through and the Red Army club captain ended up spending his career in the relative anonymity of the domestic league 鈥 one of the modern game鈥檚 rare one-team stars.
Akinfeev will get his chance to shine before an even bigger audience when he pulls on his gloves on Saturday in Russia鈥檚 most important match in generations.
A win against Croatia in Sochi would put Russia in the semifinal of a World Cup for only the second time since the Soviets did it in England in 1966.
That team was led by Lev Yashin 鈥 one of history鈥檚 greatest goalkeepers with whom Akinfeev is occasionally compared.
The mystique that surrounded Yashin and his Soviet successor Rinat Dasayev is yet to catch up with Russia鈥檚 current No. 1. But Akinfeev鈥檚 110 appearances for his country are more than those of either Yashin or Dasayev and his longevity alone draws comparison to the two.
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