Sunday 22 June 2014 20:51, UK
Russia boss Fabio Capello insists his side’s late defeat to Belgium was a good game, despite large sections of the crowd voicing their disapproval during the 1-0 loss.
There were few clear-cut chances for either side in Rio de Janeiro, although Aleksandr Kokorin and Andrei Yeshchenko both threatened for Capello’s men who now need to beat Algeria in their final Group H game in order to stand any chance of progressing.
But it was Belgium who eventually broke the deadlock as Divock Origi, who replaced Romelu Lukaku in the second half, was found inside the area by Eden Hazard and he slammed into the roof of the net to claim the three points with just two minutes remaining on the clock.
Boos from fans inside the Maracana Stadium were audible for large parts of the second half as the game suffered a real lull in quality, but Capello says it was a better spectacle than many suggested.
"The match was a really good game, fast, strong," he said.
"I'm disappointed for the players because they played a really good game."
Capello added: "Frankly I am very happy with the performance of the team and I thought the result was unfair.
"The truth of the matter is we had chances to win it but we lost. Both teams gave it their all and unfortunately it was Belgium that was able to make it.
"We have to look forward and I said when we came to play in this World Cup after being absent for 12 years that this will be a great help for us to understand the level we need to be at in future competitions.
