With their national team out of the World Cup, interest among Russians in the football tournament is beginning to wane.
After far exceeding expectations in the early stage of the competition, Russia was knocked out by Croatia on Saturday in the quarterfinals, leading many in the host nation to stop following the tournament.
“That’s it. There’s no point watching the World Cup anymore,” a woman identifying herself only as Vasilisa from Samara, one of the host cities for the World Cup, tweeted soon after Russia crashed out.
Another post doing the rounds on Russian social media compared the remaining teams in the tournament to guests who stay at a party after the host has gone to bed.
“It has cooled down. The interest has cooled. The main event has passed, Russia’s victory, that’s gone now,” Russia supporter Sergei Cherevko said.
“But everyone is happy with what we have,” he said, adding that he would still watch remaining games, supporting Belgium.
Russians from all walks of life had been swept up by the progress of their national team, which reached the quarterfinal despite starting out as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament. City bars were packed to capacity and emotions were high every time they played.