Russia goalkeeper, Andrey Lunev said on Thursday that any attacking player of the Russian national team could repeat Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics and score a hat-trick during their round of 16 encounter with Spain.
Ronaldo netted his side’s all three goals in Portugal’s 3-3 draw with Spain in the teams’ first match at the tournament.
Russia, who finished second in Group A and advanced to the knockout stage for the first time, will face Group B winners Spain at the Luzhniki Stadium on Monday morning AEST.
Zenit St. Petersburg said “(Aleksandr) Golovin can score a hat-trick, (Artem) Dzyuba can. Any attacking player of our team can, (Fedor) Smolov can do it as well. Those who start for the team will score.
The 26-year-old also said that Russia were ready to stand up to Spain defender Sergio Ramos’ aggressive playing style.