“I absolutely do not feel the greatness of the moment”

The Euro 2020 qualification will be remembered by Russian fans for the team’s high performance, a bright combinational game in its execution, a winning streak (seven victories in a row), and most importantly, a fifth consecutive hit at the European Championship. However, Stanislav Cherchesov at a post-match press conference in Nicosia refused to consider this achievement weighty and called for setting much more ambitious goals.

“I am pleased with how the team reacted to the game. Absolutely do not feel the greatness of the moment. Today came out on the Euro. This weekday episode is just a step towards the next goal. The main task is to win the European Championship. Still need to play with the Belgians in St. Petersburg. We fight for first place in the group. And we must not forget about the draw of the Euro. We’ll finish the qualification, try to take first place, recognize the rivals, and we will prepare for them, ”Cherchesov noted.

The specialist also shared the secret of success of Denis Cheryshev, who returned to the starting lineup of the team and scored four points for performance.

“What did Cheryshev say so that he could get good serve? He gave out from behind an ear as if. And you need to approach at an angle of 45 degrees to see what is happening. That's what I said, ”- said Stanislav Salamovich.

In addition, the 56-year-old specialist admitted that he did not consider Russia a favorite in the home game with Belgium.

“The Belgian national team is one of the strongest in the world. And we are going to some forty place. Our strength is that we understand what we can and what we do not know how. And what we don’t know, we don’t. And yet - there are no indifferent in the team. And will not be. Not a minute, not even a second, ”he added.

Finally, to the question of whether Cherchesov was going to play youth in the last selection matches in the national team, he answered negatively.

“We do nothing on purpose. If Mario Fernandez had been healthy, he would have played, not Sergey Petrov. This is the Russian team. Here you always need to use the first team. Why Petrov, not Vyacheslav Karavaev? Because the coach decided so. He convinced me. And today, in the game with Cyprus, he was more suitable for us, ”concluded the specialist.

In turn, the mentor of the Cypriots Ran Ben-Shimon admitted that he wants to quickly forget the result of the meeting.

“We had a lot of mistakes, and Russia punished us. I would not talk about today's match, but concentrated on the future game with Scotland, ”he said.

Ben-Shimon also said that the Russian team did not surprise him, but fulfilled his plan for the game as well as possible. He noted and Russian fans. The match was attended by about two thousand Russians.

“A lot of Russians live in Cyprus. Perhaps this is strange, but there is nothing to be done, today we played as if visiting. It was also when we played here with Greece, ”he concluded.

“The guys after the goal shouted:“ Though now you’ll stop grumbling ”

And the main character in the mixed zone habitually became forward Artyom Dziuba. The striker scored another goal and thereby set a national team performance record in the World Cup and European Championship qualifiers. This goal was already the ninth in the qualification for the football player and the 24th for the national team.

Dziubu was especially impressed by the game of the reserve goalkeeper of the rival Rafael Urco Pardo, who was replaced at the end of the first half instead of the injured Costas Panaya.

“Stunning this Urco, the Spaniard, is just“ bellissimo, ”as they say. Very strong goalkeeper. Dragged three dead balls. One at Cheryshev, the second from Alexei Ionov in the second half, when I was reset, and from me the head. I really liked this goalkeeper, ”the striker shared.

The player also noted that he requires partners to give more dedication on the field, sometimes annoying them with their behavior.

“They shouted to me all the way when I scored:“ Though now you’ll stop grumbling. ” I’m running like a grandfather, cursing. I try so that our people do not calm down, strive to score more. To play sluggishly is not our style, ”added Artyom.

The dimensional forward joked about his role as a handler in the team and about the pursuit of Alexander Kerzhakov, who is currently the top scorer in the history of the national team with 30 goals.

“Assists? You know, on the left shoulder at that moment I had an imp sitting and said: “hit it yourself!”, And on the right: “give a pass.” A year and a half we enjoy the game, everything is positive, of course, it pleases. I will be grateful to the RFU if they organize a match with Cambodia. I continue to insist on this: Cambodia, Yemen. If I score 31 goals, it will be beautiful. But the main thing is the team. If it works out, it will be great, ”summed up Dziuba.

Finally, the team captain described how he relates to claims that the current Russian team is the best in history.

“This is our country - from extreme to extreme. As my dad said, time will judge everything. We have a chance at the European Championships to show that we are the best team. Since we were able to get into the quarter finals of the World Cup and there we played on equal terms with Croatia, which means there is a chance. It’s good that we have a team. Cherchesov said that the main task is to win the European Championship? If Salamovich said, then it should be so, then we’ll try. I personally do not want to run ahead. Today, we’ll quietly rejoice that we entered the Euro, but there are two more games in the selection, ”summed up Dziuba.

“Guilherme didn’t even wash - he didn’t sweat at all”

Alexander Golovin, who in Nicosia also did not leave the field without a goal, also declared his readiness to compete for a victory at the Euro.

“After the World Cup, there is a chance that we can win the European Championship without jokes. The whole team thinks about this, since we are ready for this both mentally, and game preparation will be appropriate. In any case, when you come to the tournament, you want to win it, and not just think about leaving the group and winning in one match, ”said the Monaco midfielder.

Magomed Ozdoev shared his emotions from the match. At the same time, the Zenit midfielder scored for the team in the second meeting in a row. In Nicosia, the midfielder chalked up the second goal of the team. Ozdoeva was also reminded of a curious story with TV presenter Tina Kandelaki, who recently confused him with Zenit striker Serdar Azmun. Magomed joked that he refers to such moments with understanding.

“Regarding Azmuna: honestly, there is no problem. They told me that they mixed up with Serdar, I said there are no problems, they often confuse us, ”Ozdoev emphasized.

In turn, Cheryshev admitted that he would do everything possible to make Dziuba beat Israel's Eran Zahavi (10 goals) in the tournament's scorers, and also noted the removal of defender Kostas Layfis for a foul on Petrov.

“We scored a quick ball, it had a positive effect. Stanislav Salamovich demanded that we put pressure on their defenders. It turned out to rob the opponent and score. Then it became easier to play, and after the removal the course of the match finally calmed down, ”said the midfielder.

Cheryshev also spoke about the mood before the match with the Belgians.

“We will try to beat Belgium. The main thing is to do what they wanted. If we help Juba to score as much as possible, it will be even better, ”added Denis.

The last to share his impressions of the game was defender Georgy Jikia. The football player admitted that he expected more goals.

“They scored their goals, but still did not score as many. But the main thing is that today is a historical event, we entered the Euro! I congratulate the whole country from the bottom of my heart! At the beginning of the match I had a good moment - I didn’t realize it, but it's okay, the main thing is that our team won, ”he said.

The defender also noted that the opponent did not create a single moment at the gates of the Russian national team. The Cypriots did not even succeed in breaking the target at least once.

“It's always nice to play zero. All the players are great, everyone is cool defended. Marinato Guillerme came up and thanked us for the “dry series”. He didn’t even wash - he didn’t sweat at all, ”Jikia joked.