Mandatory program

After the victories over the teams of Scotland and Kazakhstan, most of the fans of the Russian national team naturally experienced a sense of joy and even delight. Moreover, if the match with geographical neighbors turned out to be difficult, then the wards of Stanislav Cherchesov beat the British in the case, and even on the road. The team did not even embarrass the early goal in the performance of the hosts.

Optimism was added to the Russians by the fact that Artyom Dziuba and the company, almost four matches before the end of the qualifying stage, practically guaranteed themselves getting into the final stage of Euro 2020. The gap from the closest pursuers, Kazakhstan and Cyprus, reached eight points, and from Scotland - nine. Thus, a draw in the match between Kazakhstan and Cyprus and a victory in the October game with the British will make the domestic team inaccessible to competitors who, by the way, still have to play with Belgium.

However, it’s still not worth praising the national team for these successes. Firstly, she got a fairly easy group. Russians have not encountered such luck for a long time. Kazakhstan, Cyprus, San Marino - it was initially clear that the current quarter-finalist of the World Cup was obliged to beat these rivals.

Scotland seemed a much more dangerous opponent, but during the selection it became clear that you should not be afraid of Steve Clark's wards. This they clearly demonstrated already in the first match, when they conceded three unanswered goals on the road from Michal Bilek's squad in the capital of Kazakhstan. Then followed an extremely unintelligible victory over San Marino - 2-0. It is not surprising that after six meetings the Scots are only in fifth place and do not pose a threat to Russia.

Therefore, victory over such an opponent should also not be perceived as an incredible achievement, although the Russian team should be given its due. The Belgians, who fell into group I from the strongest basket, have not yet lost points at all, including having confidently outplayed Cherchesov's team - 3: 1.

Lack of Plan B and Belief in Juba

At the same time, the game of the Russian team has not changed a bit since the successful World Cup. Cherchesov continues to focus on the 4-2-3-1 scheme with Dziuba extended to the tip. On the one hand, one can reasonably note that there is no point in breaking what works well. On the other hand, the domestic team has become too predictable. This was especially pronounced in the match with Kazakhstan, in which the rivals managed to create problems for Dzube. As a result, the Russians scored the only goal only in the 89th minute.

Thus, having solved the problem of restraining Zenit striker (albeit a very difficult one), the opponent actually ties his hands to the team. Plan B for Cherchesov, it seems, does not exist at all. If you take the qualifying round, then the other two Russian star strikers, Fyodor Chalov and Fyodor Smolov, practically did not get a chance. For two, they did not spend a hundred minutes on the field, only two times leaving for a substitution.

It seems that both Smolov and Chalov under Cherchesov in the national team will continue to remain on the bench, and Dziuba will continue to be a key footballer collecting picks and throwing balls to fast midfielders. In the event of his injury or disqualification, the team may have serious problems, as happened in last year's friendly match with the German national team - 0: 3, which the Zenit forward missed due to damage.

Lack of youth confidence

At the same time, Cherchesov himself refused any changes in the game in August, when he bluntly stated that he did not see the best RPL scorer of last season Chalov in the national team. According to him, Fedor does not fit the current model of the national team.

But in this case, several reasonable questions arise immediately. Firstly, the team should really gather all the strongest players in the country, and the coaching staff’s job is to integrate them into the game. So really, one of the most talented young football players in the country did not deserve a place in the team? While Chalov is forced to play for the "youth team". At the same time, a year ago Cherchesov called instead of him turned into the hero of memes Anton Zabolotny, which caused bewilderment among many fans.

However, do not forget that in the same way, the coach first ignored Dziuba himself, but he proved his need and became an irreplaceable footballer of the national team, and after that - its captain.

In the case of youth Cherchesov is in no hurry to take risks. For example, Zelimkhan Bakayev, who started the season superbly, although he was called up for the last matches, did not enter the field. Nikolai Komlichenko still did not get a chance, even despite the crazy performance in the Czech Republic. They did not invite Alexander Sobolev, who is now one of the leaders of the RPL scorer race, to the gathering. Also, there was no place in the team for the talented goalkeepers Alexander Maksimenko and Matvey Safonov.

On the other hand, it cannot be said that the road to the young team is closed. Cherchesov gradually, but introduces “fresh blood” into the composition. For example, in a match with Kazakhstan, from the first minutes, Anton Miranchuk and Ilzat Akhmetov appeared on the field. As a result, both played not in the best way and were replaced. And a few days later, Stanislav Salamovich even criticized the Lokomotiv midfielder.

“Anton is given a chance, and needs to be used - then he will gain a foothold in the base. In Lokomotiv, he and his brother play constantly and, it seems to me, they feel more free than in the national team, although I do not enslave them. Let's be patient. Another thing is that they say about the amount of € 84 million, and it must be consistent. Champions League begins soon - for us and for him it is a litmus test. We cannot forever give chances, and Miranchuk should understand this, ”Cherchesov said on the air of the Russia 24 channel.

By the way, Alexey Miranchuk did not become the main one in the national team, although he, of course, is one of the leaders of Loko, and at the end of August he almost moved to Zenit. In the current European Championship qualifier, the footballer only came out at the start. At the same time, Cherchesov more often sends him to the attack flanks, and not to the favorite position of the attacking midfielder. The team in this place is played by Alexander Golovin. However, even having appeared in the starting lineup for the San Marino match, Alexey did not manage to score a single point for the performance, although, it seemed, he had to try to prove his need to the coaching staff.

In the last matches, the best on the field were not young football players who need to fight for a place at the base, but 36-year-old Yuri Zhirkov, who made his international debut almost 15 years ago. So questions arise not only to Cherchesov, but also to the players themselves.

In this regard, it is very curious whether Cherchesov will decide to experiment in the last matches of the qualifying stage, when a ticket to Euro 2020 will already be won. Thus, the coaching staff will be able to develop new tactical schemes and try out some newcomers, especially since a truly talented generation of young soccer players has grown up in the country.

However, with a high degree of probability Cherchesov will not take risks and move away from the scheme that gives the result. Including because this will improve the rating of the national team and earn extra points before the European Championship itself. Whether the mentor is right, it will become clear only next summer.