'Russia not practising penalties'

Russia goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, who saved two penalties to carry his team past Spain and into the World Cup last eight, has not been practicing spot kicks with his teammates, he said on Tuesday.

The Muscovite twice denied Spain from the spot on Sunday, including kicking away Iago Aspas's final shot to help his team win the shootout 4-3 following a 1-1 draw on Sunday.

"We definitely have not trained in it (penalties)," he told reporters at their base on the outskirts of Moscow. Akinfeev said the team had hoped to beat Spain in regular time and not have to go to penalties.

"But the game was long and all the emotions were gone in those 120 minutes," he said.