Fabio Capello endured a rather lacklustre World Cup with England four years ago. Now in charge of a Russia side full of promise, will the Italian fare better in Brazil?
Tuesday 10 June 2014 10:04, UK
Russia have previously been a rather strange World Cup side, continuously promising a solid showing but perennially falling at the first hurdle. Their performance at Euro 2012 also did little to inspire, finishing behind Czech Republic and Greece in Group A.
However, there is reason for genuine positivity. Under the helm of Fabio Capello, Russia won their qualifying group ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal, and will therefore be confident of a better showing this time around.
They play a slightly slower-paced style in a 4-3-3 formation, which may suit the intense heat of Brazil, but any aspirations of success must be tempered with reality – the draw suggests a fixture against Germany or Portugal in the last-16. Neither will be easy.
Russia’s Group H fixtures
1. Tuesday June 17: Russia vs South Korea – Cuiaba (23.00)
2. Sunday June 22: Russia vs Belgium – Rio De Janeiro (17.00)
3. Thursday June 26: Russia vs Algeria – Curitiba (21.00)
Coach: Fabio Capello
A very familiar name to English fans after he led the national team for four years, including at the last World Cup in South Africa. The Italian has largely stuck to the same principles as the ones that England supporters viewed rather distastefully, namely building from the back and pragmatism. Russia conceded just five goals in ten qualifying matches. With squad and supporters behind the manager, the majority opinion is that Russia are moving in the right direction with Capello in charge, and he recently signed a deal to stay until the end of the 2018 World Cup, a tournament that Russia will be hosting.
Star man: Alexander Kokorin
Russia’s star striker and principal goalscoring threat, Kokorin had a bizarre start to the season when he was sold by Dynamo Moscow to Anzhi Makhachkala, only to be bought back a moth later when Anzhi’s financial problems became evident. Kokorin scored four goals in just seven qualifying matches, and scored ten goals (plus six assists) for Dynamo in 22 Russian league games. An all-round striker confident with ball at feet but also adept in the air, he may be the key to Russia’s progress.
Tournament Best: Group stage 1994, 2002
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Lodygin (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan)
Defenders: Vasiliy Berezutskiy, Sergey Ignashevich, Georgiy Schennikov (all CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat, Alexey Kozlov (both Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eschenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny)
Midfielders: Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Roman Shirokov (Krasnodar), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Viktor Faizulin, Oleg Shatov (both Zenit St Petersburg)
Forwards: Yury Zhirkov, Alexey Ionov, Alexander Kokorin (all Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow).
British based players: None
Sky Bet odds: 80/1
As arguably the least-suited country to the conditions in South America, Russia are outsiders in Brazil but are still expected to qualify from Group H at 1/2. Zenit St Petersburg striker Alexander Kerzhakov is the 3/1 favourite to be their top scorer, closely followed by Dynamo Moscow’s Alexander Kokorin at 7/2.
