Russia
The Road to the 2018 FIFA World Cup
As the FIFA World Cup 2018 host nation, Russia were not required to participate in qualifying, and have instead prepared through a series of friendly matches. Some top name opposition was lined up, including games against Argentina, Spain and Brazil. Stanislav Cherchesov’s men suffered a narrow defeat to Argentina 1-0 in November, and in the same month earned a creditable draw with Spain in a thrilling encounter which ended 3-3.
The team did have the opportunity of competitive football during the 2017 Confederations Cup, held in the country from June 17 to July 2, as a warm-up to the World Cup. However, the team failed to make it out of the group stage, defeating New Zealand, but narrowly losing to Portugal and Mexico in their three group matches.
Stars
Russians are used to seeing stars appear once in a generation; from former Arsenal winger and Euro 2008 hero Andrey Arshavin to Ballon d’Or-winning Soviet goalkeeper Lev Yashin, their standout players tend to emerge sporadically.
Russia’s current squad includes a blend of youth and experience, from the old guard defensive paring of the Berezutsky brothers and Sergey Ignashevich, to 21-year-old starlet Aleksandr Golovin, touted by many as ‘the future of Russian football’. Golovin has also attracted the attention of London club Arsenal and their English Premier League rivals Manchester United. The CSKA winger has become equally indispensable to the national team.
Also from that same pool of talented youngsters are twins Anton and Aleksey Miranchuk. Lokomotiv’s sibling midfield pairing are enjoying a fruitful breakthrough season for club and country.
Aside from Russia’s ‘next generation’, perhaps the two most recognizable faces in the Russia team are Fyodor Smolov and Alexander Kokorin. Krasnodar striker Smolov has established himself as probably the most dangerous striker in Russia, having twice become RPL top scorer. He attracted significant transfer interest from English and German clubs in January, but opted to stay in his homeland. He will now be looking to prove himself on the international stage at his home World Cup, before a potential big-money move abroad.
Kokorin is another player to have been touted as the ‘future of Russian football’ and, like Arshavin and Golovin, has previously attracted interest from Arsenal. He has revived a somewhat stuttering career under new Zenit St. Petersburg coach Roberto Mancini, beginning the league season in blistering form with six goals in seven games.
Another key player is long-time goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. Despite criticism levelled against him for mistakes in the Confederations Cup, Akinfeev remains Russia’s strongest goalkeeper and it’s difficult to imagine the national team at the 2018 World Cup without the 31-year-old CSKA man.
Fans will also place high hopes on midfield playmaker Alan Dzagoev, providing the 27-year-old can stay fit, having missed Euro 2016 because of a broken metatarsal and the 2017 Confed Cup also through injury.
Spartak youngster Roman Zobnin, a midfielder, is also looked to as a potential star for the team, and has recovered from the serious knee injury that kept him out of the Confed Cup.
The Coach
Stanislav Cherchesov replaced former manager Leonid Slutsky after Russia failed to qualify for the knock-out stages at Euro 2016. Cherchesov has a wealth of managerial experience including holding head coaching positions at Spartak Moscow, Terek Grozny, and Dynamo Moscow, and securing his biggest achievement to date in football by guiding Legia Warsaw to a Polish league and cup double. He’s known as a ‘no-nonsense’ manager, but is charismatic and eloquent in front of the press.
After the 2017 Confederations Cup, rumors surfaced of tensions between the coach and national team players, with some saying Cherchesov could even resign. However, the 54-year-old remained as head coach, and appears unafraid to experiment in the run-up to Russia 2018, handing debuts and playing time to less experienced players. Some who have benefitted from Cherchesov’s rotation policy, including defender Georgi Dzhikiya, have made positions their own.
Tactically, Cherchesov prioritizes defense, most often favoring a 3-5-2 formation with three central defenders and two wing-backs to provide defensive cover and create width on the flanks.
Past Achievements
In the post-Soviet period, the Russian national team have consistently failed to make their mark at World Cups, never reaching the knock-out stages. In 1994, even five goals from Oleg Salenko versus Cameroon in the final game were not enough for the team to qualify from the group stage. In 2002, in their last group stage match with Belgium, a draw would have sufficed, but Oleg Romantsev’s team lost to the Red Devils to crash out again at the first hurdle. Then in 2016, with Fabio Capello as head coach, the team needed a win against Algeria to make it to the round of 16, but the game ended in an exasperating draw.