Argentina vs Nigeria match in numbers

Russian fans danced in the streets of Kaliningrad on the Baltic and kissed strangers in Vladivostok in the Far East after their team defied all expectations to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

In the Black Sea resort of Sochi, thousands of fans with Russian flags draped around their shoulders watched a giant screen transfixed and cars in central Moscow honked from dusk till dawn.

A mixture of disbelief and jubilation is gripping the host nation after their team pulled off one of the biggest World Cup upsets in recent memory, sending 2010 champions Spain packing after a penalty shootout decided their last-16 tie.

"It's great. Unbelievable. We are champions," 27-year old Muscovite Anna Glazkova said after Sunday's match. We believe we will now be in the final with Brazil."

The penalty shootout turned goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev into a national hero after a backs-to-the-wall performance in which they had just over a quarter of possession.

"What is there to hide, we were hoping for penalties," Akinfeev admitted to reporters.

It is the type of honesty that is endearing this rag-tag team of journeymen to a nation unused to celebrating its football team.

Russia is at heart an ice hockey country in which the beautiful game is played -- but not necessarily very well.

The chant often filling Russian stadiums during matches is "shai-bu!" -- the word for "hockey puck" -- a teasing reminder to the footballers that their hockey counterparts know how to score.

But the roar of the 80,000-crowd packed into Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium -- the same word echoing in bars and metro stations and shouted in Komsomolsk-on-Amur 6,000 kilometres (3,800 miles) to the east -- was "Ro-ssi-ya!" over and over again.

"Hurray!" Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev tweeted from the International Space Station after watching the match streamed live on a floating laptop.

"I always knew we could do it," a shaman from Siberia told the national Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

Russian police said early on Wednesday they had received multiple bomb threats in the World Cup host city of Rostov-on-Don, causing bars and restaurants to be evacuated across the city.

"On June 26, police received a series of phone calls about explosives planted at locations in Rostov-on-Don," local police said in a statement.

"Police forces made all the necessary checks and no dangerous objects were found," the statement said. "Currently, all the venues are operating normally."

Increasingly isolated on the global stage, Russia is keen to use the World Cup to project an image of stability and strength. Authorities have vowed to host a safe event and any security incidents involving fans could jeopardise Moscow's efforts.

A policeman at the Topos Congress-Hotel in Rostov-on-Don, which was evacuated at around 2000 GMT on Tuesday, said 16 venues had been evacuated across the city as part of a drill.

On the other side of the city, a manager at the Luciano Italian restaurant said staff had been told to evacuate the building for around two hours after receiving a bomb threat.

"There was a phone call, an anonymous phone call, they said there was a bomb in the building," said the manager, who declined to give their name because they were not authorised to speak to the media.

A spokesman for soccer's world governing body FIFA was not immediately available for comment.

The Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, some 955 km (593 miles) south of Moscow, has so far hosted four matches in the World Cup, including Croatia's 2-1 win over Iceland earlier on Tuesday. The next scheduled match at the venue is on Monday.

The city is just a short distance from Russia's border with eastern Ukraine, where rebels backed by Moscow have been fighting Ukrainian troops since 2014, and its close proximity to the conflict had caused security concerns ahead of the tournament.

The Topos Congress-Hotel is listed as an official World Cup hotel by FIFA, but none of the competing teams are staying there, according to official documents.

Police at the scene said the hotel had been evacuated due to a bomb threat and sniffer dogs were seen entering the building, a Reuters witness said.

Security services were seen questioning people on the street outside the hotel, next to emergency vehicles and a crowd of around 60 evacuated guests who had not yet been allowed back into the building.

Russia was subject to a wave of hoax bomb threats last summer, causing disruption at businesses and public buildings in towns and cities across the country.

The Russian Federal Security Service said in October it had identified four Russian citizens behind the hoax campaign, who were living abroad and using internet phone services to call in the threats anonymously.

Argentina legend Diego Maradona wished Lionel Messi on his 31st birthday through an Instragram post. Maradona posted a picture of him with Messi and captioned the image with a short dedication that read `Happy Birthday, Leo Messi’ accompanied by two emoji gifts:  a cake and an arm with a closed fist, as a sign of strength.

Maradona Supported Messi on his last match against Croatia, where the Argentine playmaker came under intense criticism from his countrymen.

Messi’s team mates and friends also celebrated his birthday, he was presented with birthday cake by Argentina team-mates as some of them posted some pictures with Messi on social media. Sergio Aguero wished Messi a happy birthday with a post on his Instagram. The 31-year-old also took time out to meet some of his team-mates' children.

Argentina are gearing themselves up for their final group game against Nigeria which will be held tomorrow at 12 pm in Bangladesh time.

Roberto Martinez revealed that Romelu Lukaku is an injury doubt for Belgium's World Cup blockbuster tie against England after the in-form striker picked up an ankle injury on Saturday.

Lukaku and Eden Hazard both netted twice as the Red Devils routed Tunisia 5-2 to leave them top of Group G and on the verge of the last 16.

But the Manchester United forward came off in the second half at the Spartak Stadium in Moscow.

"We need to look at Lukaku's ankle. He took a knock and has to be assessed," said Martinez, who revealed man-of-the-match Eden Hazard also picked up an injury.

"Eden Hazard has a calf knock, Dries Mertens has an ankle problem. There will be major changes against England.

"If we could have seven days to prepare, I'd say we'd start with the same team, but the reality is that you are only as good as the 23 players."

Lukaku's absence would be a blow to Belgium's hopes against England, with top spot in the group likely to be at stake.

The United player already has four goals at Russia 2018 to leave him as joint top scorer alongside Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo.

However, there was some good news for Belgium boss Martinez, with Chelsea midfielder Hazard expected to be fit to face England in Kaliningrad on Thursday.

"I felt something in my calf in the first half but nothing big and I think I will be OK tomorrow," he said.

Diego Maradona has requested a meeting with Argentina's players in an attempt to inspire the struggling squad ahead of their crucial final World Cup group game against Nigeria.

The two-time world champions must beat Nigeria in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday if they are to avoid a premature exit following a disastrous 3-0 defeat by Croatia.

He said he would bring along other Argentina greats of the past for the motivational talk.

"I would love to hold a meeting with them, with (Nery) Pumpido, with (Sergio) Goycochea, with (Claudio) Caniggia, with (Pedro) Troglio, even with (Daniel) Passarella if he wants to come, and with (Jorge) Valdano," Maradona told Venezuelan TV channel Telesur.

"We're going to defend our honour, boys. It cost us too much to be where we are for Croatia to come and hit us for three goals and to leave with our arms crossed without anyone putting a foot in."

Maradona, who has criticised coach Jorge Sampaoli and striker Sergio Aguero in recent days, also took aim at Argentina Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia in his latest outburst.

"I'm furious and very upset inside, because anyone who wore that (Argentina) shirt can't see it being trampled like that by a Croatian team that isn't Germany, that isn't Brazil, that isn't Holland or Spain," he said.

"But there is a guilty party and the culprit is the president of the AFA. Everyone just accepted it when Sampaoli came in with computers, with drones, with 14 assistants.

"I think there is a total lack of authority on Tapia's part."

Javier Mascherano, one of the squad's senior players, denied on Sunday that there was a rift between Sampaoli and the players.