Russia

www.russia.com

World Ranking 25

Squad

Team Review

Russia were in the same qualifying group as England going into this tournament and the fact that they have progressed to the finals with England being left behind says a lot about their team and what they are capable of. They are better going forward than defending in my view so could score quite a few goals my only worry is do they have enough steel and experience to progress to the knock out stages? The group could be very tight but I hope because of their attacking style of play Russia play to their strengths and have a good go at it!

Star Man

Aleksandr Kerzhakov, a striker with a keen eye for goal that plays in Spain with Sevilla which is a step up in comparison to most of his team mates who play in either the Russian or

Ukrainian leagues so as you can imagine the standard of football he plays week in week out is some what better so hopefully he can show some of what he has learnt playing European football and transpire that into the national team.

Also check out who we think will be the 'players to watch' in the tournament

Tournament History

Quarter Final

	Q.Final	Time	Home		Away	Stadium
	3	19:45	Netherlands	1 - 3(aet)	Russia	Basel St. Jakob-Park

Semi Final

	S.Final	Time	Home		Away	Stadium
	2	19:45	Russia	0 - 3	Spain	Vienna Ernst Happel

Match Reports

Spain 4 - 1 Russia

(Villa 20, 44, 75, Fabregas 90) (Pavlyuchenko)

The game started at a blistering pace with Russia and Spain both going for it, but in the first 10-15 minutes it was Russia who was putting the most amount of pressure on the Spanish defence but shortly after a nice bit of interplay between the front two resulted in a goal for the Spaniards scored by David Villa.

The next attack came from the Russians and within minutes after Spain’s they hit the frame of Casillas’s goal at the other end. The game continued as it had started, at a blistering pace and on the stroke of half time Spain’s little hitman struck a again with a goal of real quality as he timed his run perfectly latching on to a flawlessly weighted pass from Iniesta to slot home between the legs of an outstretched Akinfeev.

The third came in the 75th minute and was the third goal on the night scored by an outstanding David Villa and he took it superbly well again coolly slotting the ball past the Russian keeper after evading the challenge of the oncoming Russian defender. After this goal the game was dead and buried in terms of the Russians getting back into but there was still more action as in the 86TH Pavluchenko scored a conciliation goal but to make matters worse Spain finished off the drubbing with a fourth from their substitute Cesc Fabregas in the 90th minute with a diving header.

This game will really send shivers down the spine of Spain’s next opponents Greece who were beaten easily by an average Sweden team and to be honest I think Sweden will be looking forward to playing the Russians after their performance last night.

Greece 0 - 1 Russia

(Zyryanov 34)

The game was never going to one to remember with neither side having any flair players included within their line ups although the Russians would have if Arshavin wasn’t suspended for the game. The game started off well enough even though Otto Rehaggel again went with his favoured yet ultra defensive 4-5-1 formation but neither team looked like scoring until the 34th minute when a mistake from the experienced Nikopolidis gave Sergei Semak a chance after he has inexplicably charged off his line to pass it to Zyryanov who calmly placed the ball into the open net. The Greeks did try and pull one back but their lack of fire power up front was clear for all to see as they couldn’t even muster a chance in the last hour giving Russian the win even though neither team in my eye had done enough to deserve the win.

Russia 2 - 0 Sweden

(Pavlyuchenko 24, Arshavin 50)

This game was the decider in group D and the game didn’t disappoint with the Russians in a mood which saw them play relentless attacking football with Arshavin being the catalyst for all of it. It took the Russian just 24 minutes to carve open the Swedish defence who at times looked static and Pavlyuchenko provided a smart finish.

The rampant Russians carried on there assault outplaying the Swedes in nearly every area of the pitch making themselves a few more chances before halftime but couldn’t convert. In the second half it only took 5 minutes for Arshavin to double their lead with a well taken sliding effort after team mate Zhirkov laid the ball off.

The Russians came close a number of times afterward but didn’t make their chances pay and it ended 2-0, it could have been a lot more.

Quarter Final

Netherlands 1 - 3(aet) Russia

(Van Nisterooy 86) (Pavlyuchenko 56, Torbinski 112, Arshavin 116)

The game was superb end to end stuff with both teams playing attacking positive football but it looked as though the Dutch were the superior team in the opening first half but they failed to convert any chances they made for themselves as for the Russians they too didn’t manage to finish off the chances they fashioned.

The second half was again played at a brilliant pace with the Russians this time looking the more dangerous and within 10 minutes took the lead through Pavlyuchenko after some brilliant work from Arshavin to set him up. The game was not finished there though as both teams looked to create other chances as the Dutch were trying with all their might to get one back while the Russian were looking to finish their counterparts off. The chance fell to whom the Russians would have least liked it to come to, the deadly van Nistelrooy who took it well enough which gave the Dutch the lifeline they needed to take the game into extra time.

The first half of extra time trundled by with both teams not creating a lot but once the second half had started both teams realised they didn’t want the game to be finished by penalties and it was the Russians who looked the more likely to score with the trickery of Arshavin in the team and this was the case as in the 112th minute Arshavin set up Torbinski to slide the ball home and dash the Dutch fans and players hopes of getting further than this game. That goal really took it out of the Dutch who fell to pieces afterwards and were made to pay as Arshavin put the game beyond any doubt by capping off his man of the match display with a well taken goal that really stuck the knife in and sent the Dutch packing.

Semi Final

Russia 0 - 3 Spain

(Xavi Hernandez 50, Guiza 68, Silva 81)

Spain gave a master class in how to beat an opponent using slick passing, vision and creativity to tear apart a Russian team that looked more than formidable coming into this game. The 3-0 scored flattered the Russian’s who simply just didn’t turn up on the night and for a game of this magnitude and importance I was very surprised as they are coached by Guus Hiddink who knows better than most what is required in major tournaments. Right from the off Spain took control but didn’t threaten too much in the early stages, and were dealt a massive blow when their star striker.

Half time came with the Russians hanging on but still had a chance with the game being goalless. After the break Spain came out all guns blazing with the wizardry of Iniesta and Fabregas conjuring up some magical football between them. It took them just 5 minutes after halftime to break the deadlock as Iniesta curled the ball into the area for Xavi to finish in between a sleepy Russian defence. As Russian resistance failed to materialise, Spanish supremacy grew and there was no looking back as they threw men forward with substitute Daniel Guiza adding to the score line. By this time the Russian had all but given up and shortly after Guiza’s goal David Silva scored to make it 3-0 it could have been a lot more had Spain’s finishing been on par with their build up play.

This game could have been troublesome for Spain but for their holding midfield player Marcos Senna who had a brilliant game keeping Arshavin so quiet, he was so quiet in the game that I don’t even remember him holding on to the ball for a long enough period to make a chance for the Russians.  The game ended 3-0 and Spain were looking favourites going into the final against the Germans who only just beat the Turks and didn’t look to convincing.