The Russian team suffered a second defeat in the qualification tournament of the European Championship 2020. The wards of Stanislav Cherchesov in their field lost to the Belgians and again forced the fans to grab their heads, and the experts to say obvious things about the level of the national team. The defeat with a large score dispelled the emerging myth of the invincibility of Artyom Dziuba and the company, again showing that it is necessary to clearly distinguish between successes in games with the middle peers and the grandees of world football.
One of the most disappointing moments in this match was the inevitability of the result. If in the debut the “Red Devils” mastered the “Gazprom Arena” and acted carefully, then they turned on the revs close to the maximum and easily arranged the victory. The Russians were definitely not ready for such an rival spurt and conceded three goals in 21 minutes. Moreover, if the goal of Torgan Azar was the result of brilliant individual actions, then both goals of his older brother were the result of offensive mistakes made by Cherchesov’s nervous wards.
In the second half, domestic players looked more confident and attacked more often, but this is more likely due to the fact that the guests loosened their grip. With the score 4-0, the wards of Roberto Martinez noticeably relaxed and allowed the Russians to slightly sweeten the pill.
According to Cherchesov, in the reporting match, the Russian team was supposed to act in a more attacking manner, and not sit out on the defensive. In this regard, Miranchuk and Ionov aimed at building were on the field, and Zhirkov took the place of the left midfielder. However, the circuit did not work. Despite the abundance of attempts, the Russians looked predictably and mostly toothless in the attack, which was largely due to the weak performance of Artyom Dziuba.
Forward “Zenith” again did not show his best qualities, faced with physically strong defenders of the opponent. A similar thing happened in a meeting with Leipzig, when Dziuba could do little with not the highest, but rather strong Upamekano. This time, one of the three Vermalen-Boyat-Alderweireld defenders constantly turned out to be with him, which became a serious problem for Artyom. The leader of the Russian national team was inferior in martial arts and was constantly under pressure, which prevented him from providing partners with transfers.
Perhaps the low productivity of Dziuba is due to the fact that in this meeting there was no player who could divert attention to himself. If in “Zenith” Serdar Azmun is doing this, then in the Russian team he had no analogues.
In this regard, the attacking model of the national team was incompetent. Most combinations to one degree or another are tied to Dziuba, but without his active participation they were doomed to failure. An illustration of this was the incessant canopies performed by the same Zhirkov. Yuri stubbornly loaded the ball into the penalty area on a club partner, but the attempts failed.
In addition, the meeting with the “Red Devils” showed that despite the equal composition of the Russian team, it has irreplaceable players. One of those can be safely called Alexander Golovin. Midfielder “Monaco” is a key element of the team, having a huge impact on both the game in attack and in defense. In his absence, the team lacked extraordinary actions ahead and a quality breakwater in defense. So far, Zobnin has not been able to get the optimal shape and looks like a pale shadow of himself as a sample of the Spartak championship season, although Ozdoev tried hard, he was powerless alone, and Miranchuk and Ionov did not have the necessary qualities and the desire to do rough work.
It was the Lokomotiv midfielder who became one of the main disappointments of the game. After an enchanting performance in matches with Juventus, he was expected to do the same in the confrontation with Belgium, but he left a bad impression about himself. Alexei practically did not work out on the defensive and avoided martial arts, and on the other side of the field he did not look so inspired. If earlier Miranchuk’s non-inclusion in the composition was explained by Cherchesov’s biased attitude, now this is out of the question.
Against his background, Bakaev looked incomparably better: he clung to every ball, imposed pressure on his opponent and actively participated in the creation. He showed that he had not forgotten how to act on the midfield and perfectly replaced the tired Zhirkov. Zelimkhan led, and most of the attacks of the Russian team in the second half are connected with his last name. It is not surprising that the only goal of the hosts was scored after a corner kick, which earned the Spartak midfielder.
However, other Cherchesov replacements worked to a lesser extent. Kuzyaev turned out to be no better than Zobnin and practically disappeared into the field, and Komlichenko pointed out the lack of an alternative to Dziube in the line of attack. Nikolai was never famous for speed qualities, which he once again demonstrated in a game with Belgium. Forward “Mlady Boleslav” could not properly support the quick attacks of the hosts, and in the horse fight inferior to the more artful opponents.
In this regard, once again we have to remember the youth team of Russia, which turned out to be a number of applicants for joining the main team. Against the background of not the most successful actions of more experienced comrades, the appearance on the field of Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov and Fedor Chalov no longer seemed such an unfortunate decision. The Krasnodar midfielder would hardly have lost much to Ionov in productivity, and the CSKA striker would have been much more useful when playing in a short pass, to which the hosts were forced to turn due to the lack of prospects in the fight on the second floor.
Another controversial decision by the mentor of the Russian national team was the exit of Sergei Petrov on the left flank of the defense. The Krasnodar footballer is used to acting on the opposite edge, so he did not feel so confident. Already in the third minute he received a yellow card, and subsequently was involved in two goals conceded. In the episodes with the third and fourth scoring, he lingered ahead and only watched the development of effective attacks of the opponent.
Fernandez showed himself not on the best side either. Mario was always famous primarily for his attacking actions, but in defense was not so successful. This was especially evident in the confrontation with the Azar brothers, who without any problems dealt with the defender of CSKA. So, in the case of the first and second goals, Fernandez found himself next to Torgan and Eden, but could not interfere with either the second or the second.
It should be understood that the Saturday match did not become a complete disappointment and did not put an end to the prospects of Cherchesov's squad for Euro 2020. He only once again showed that the Russian team is not able to play open football with top-level teams. At the moment, the team does not have performers at the level of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne, which limits its capabilities.
As in March, Russian football players performed at their level, but could not jump above their heads. At the Rua Baudouin Stadium, the advantage of the Red Devils was more than tangible. The meeting in Moscow did not become different.
Therefore, if Stanislav Cherchesov wants to succeed again, he will have to rely on confident actions in defense and excellent functional readiness of athletes. This is what brought the team success in the confrontation with Spain in the home World Cup and should help in the future. Of course, such a football can hardly be called a work of art, but the result is much more important to the fans.
It is worth adding that the fiasco with Belgium has one more explanation. So, in late autumn, Russian football players regularly show not the best results. Probably, this factor is affected by fatigue from a busy schedule and the proximity of a winter break. It is enough to recall that over the past six years the team lost in six of 11 matches in November with a total difference of goals scored and goals conceded 10:20.
In 2018, the Russian team lost to Germany in a control match and Sweden in the League of Nations. And before that, the team was inferior to Argentina, Qatar, Croatia and Austria.