World Cup host Russia, which faces Croatia in the quarterfinals on Saturday, is considered by FIFA as the successor team of the Soviet Union, which split in 1991 when Russia was by far the largestSoviet republic by population and geographically. The USSR’s soccer records were allocated by FIFA to Russia, but not its Olympic medals (gold in 1956 and bronze in 1972 and 1976), because ofIOC policy. A win on Saturday would mark the first Russia/USSR World Cup semifinal passage since a USSR fourth-place finish since 1966.
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