“It's okay to play away with Denmark”
Due to the fact that Russia fell into the same group as Denmark, which also hosted the tournament, it was necessary to determine where the match between the teams will take place, in St. Petersburg or Copenhagen.
As a result, fortune was unfavorable to the wards of Stanislav Cherchesov, and in June they will have to meet with the Scandinavians on the road. Thus, in the Northern capital, wards of Stanislav Cherchesov will hold only two meetings of the group stage. However, the coach himself urged not to pay attention to it.
“We took the results of today's draw as a given. The home wall factor is important, the lot turned out to be favorable to the Danes, who will hold all the games of the group stage in Copenhagen. It's okay, we will prepare taking into account this circumstance. From the point of view of logistics, of course, it would be more convenient to speak in one place, but, I repeat, I didn’t have to choose here, ”TASS quotes Cherchesov.
Denis Cheryshev, a midfielder of the Russian national team, also spoke on this subject, who admitted that he was looking forward to the championship of the continent and again wanted to plunge into the atmosphere of a great football holiday.
“It’s okay to play away with Denmark: in any case, the stadium will be full, and the fans, I’m sure, will come to support us. It's great that two matches will be held in St. Petersburg: I still remember the magical atmosphere of the home World Cup 2018, I really want to relive all this again. I look forward to Euro 2020 and really hope to play in this tournament, ”the official website of the RFU quotes the player.
And Zenit midfielder Alexander Erokhin emphasized that holding even two matches of the tournament in St. Petersburg is great. According to him, the atmosphere at the Gazprom Arena is always fantastic.
“Here they are very well ill, this can be seen both in Zenit matches and in matches of the Russian national team. I am sure the atmosphere in the stands will be amazing. We have been provided with warm support in St. Petersburg, and it will help the Russian team achieve a positive result, ”the player added.
In turn, the general director of the organizing committee of the Russian part of Euro 2020 Aleksey Sorokin emphasized that St. Petersburg initially prepared to accept only two matches of the national team.
“From the very beginning, we expected to accept two games. And a possible third is a kind of bonus. There are no surprises, it turns out that they had somewhat higher expectations, but they were not confirmed, ”the functionary emphasized.
Finally, Zenit CEO Alexander Medvedev promised that all three matches that the Northern capital will host will be held at a level comparable to the 2018 World Cup.
“This is a feature of the European Championship with many cities - the geographical factor played a role, the draw was held. We will see at least two matches of our national team, and, I hope, the quarter-finals. There is no doubt that everything will be held at the highest level. He will fully comply with the World Cup and the upcoming Champions League final, ”summed up Medvedev.
“This is a historic opportunity for Georgian football”
Also on Friday in Nyon, another no less important event took place - the draw of the butt matches of the League of Nations, in which the winners of the last four tickets to Euro 2020 will be determined.
From League A, all teams except Iceland have already secured participation in the continental championship, so Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary made up the company to the Scandinavians. In the semifinals, Iceland will face off against Romania, and Bulgaria against Hungary.
On the way to Bosnia and Herzegovina will meet with Northern Ireland, and Slovakia - with Ireland. On the way With Scotland will fight with Israel, and Norway - with Serbia. Finally, in Path D, the lots brought together two teams from the post-Soviet space, Georgia and Belarus. Northern Macedonia and Kosovo will meet in the second semi-final.
By the way, neither Georgians nor Belarusians have ever participated in major tournaments, but now one of the teams will at least be a step away from him. The head coach of the Georgian national team, Vladimir Weiss, has already stated that this is a historic moment for the country.
“This is a matter of life and death. A historic opportunity for Georgian football. The moment when we can rewrite his story, ”the official website of UEFA quotes the expert.
It remains to add that the semi-final meetings will be held on March 26, and the final - on March 31. It is also known that the winner of path B will end up in group E in the final stage of the tournament, where Spain has already been sown as one of the hostesses. And the best team of C will go to Quartet D to England.