MOSCOW, July 8. /TASS/. Sergey Ignashevich, 38-year-old central defender for CSKA Moscow and the national football team, has announced his retirement, Russia’s national football team said in its Twitter on Sunday.

"Sergey Ignashevich has announced his retirement. Sergey, thanks for everything," the team said.

Later, Ignashevich wrote on his Instagram page: "I could not even imagine that my football career will end on such a high note. I’m proud of being a part of this team and of our football history for almost 20 years."

Ignashevich played in all of Team Russia’s five World Cup matches without being substituted.

Ignashevich made his national team debut on August 21, 2002 in the friendly game against Sweden. He holds the record of 127 games for the national team (including the 2012 Russia-Latvia friendly ahead of the UEFA Euro 2012, which did not receive the official status).

He scored eight goals for the national team and won the the UEFA Euro 2008 together with Team Russia.

After the 2016 UEFA European Championship in France, Ignashevich quitted the national team, but returned ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

The Croatian national football team entered the semifinals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup knocking out hosts Russia in the quarterfinals match on Saturday night in Sochi with the 4-3 penalty shootout win following 2-2 draw in the regular and 30-minute overtime period. Earlier in the day, Team England also cleared the quarterfinal round of the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a 2-0 win over Sweden and is now set to meet Croatia at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on July 11.