It's official: Russia's stunning victory over Spain in a 2018 World Cup match Sunday (July 1) is out of this world.
While Russians (and fans of Team Russia) around the world celebrated the country's stunning upset over Spain, two cosmonauts in space cheered for their home team from off the planet. And they looked the part, too.
Clad in "Team Russia" shirts, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev and Sergey Prokopyev watched the big game on a laptop screen from inside the station's Russian-built Zvezda module, celebrating as Russia beat Spain 4-3 in a penalty-kick shootout after the score was locked at 1-1. In a video shared by Artemyev, the cosmonauts cheer for Russia's soccer team, pumping their fists in the air and forming victory signs with their hands. [Russia's Space Traditions! 14 Things Every Cosmonaut Does for Launch]
"Team #Russia have defeated Spain on penalties to make it to the #FIFA2018 World Cup quarterfinals," Artemyev wrote on Twitter to celebrate. A soccer ball is visible just above the laptop the cosmonauts are watching.
It's a special moment for the cosmonauts for sure. After all, Russia is hosting the 2018 World Cup. Artemyev and another cosmonaut (Anton Shkaplerov, who returned to Earth last month) even played soccer in space to celebrate the event. Shkaplerov also brought a special soccer ball home from space last month so it could be presented to FIFA officials during the 2018 World Cup opening ceremonies.
Russia now goes on to the quarterfinals and will face off against Croatia on Saturday (July 7). That game, you can be sure, will be watched in space by two die-hard Team Russia fans.
Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him @tariqjmalik. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
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