"I won't be surprised if Anton becomes the leader of the national team": Gusev on Miranchuk's progress, Zhirkov's age and Dziuba's condition

"In general, the match turned out to be ambiguous"

- Can the players of the Russian national team add the match with Turkey to their assets?

- In terms of movement and physics, the team looked good, but overall the match turned out to be ambiguous.

- Stanislav Cherchesov's wards, as in the meeting with Sweden a few days ago, had completely different halves.

In the first, the Russians outplayed the rival, in the second they pressed against their goal.

What is the reason for this?

- I don't even know why they looked so different.

It seems to me that the fact is that our players lacked teamwork.

I wouldn't cite fatigue as a cause.

- Can we say that the misfire of the Russian national team was the result of the absence of leaders, including Georgy Jikia and Mario Fernandez?

- Of course, this cannot but influence the team.

Moreover, we must not forget that in the last matches of the national team, Alexey Miranchuk and Alexander Golovin could not help either.

These are the backbone players.

The absence of such figures always creates problems.

Had they taken to the field, everything would have turned out differently.

And so we actually have a new line of defense.

It is clear that in this combination, people will make mistakes.

When the Russian national team has a core that played at the World Cup, it looks much more solid.

- How logical is it that Fyodor Kudryashov played in a pair with Andrei Semyonov in the center of defense, who if he acted in this position, then in the top three?

- I think Kudryashov feels comfortable in any scheme.

In terms of defensive actions, Fedor is able to play in any position.

But, I repeat, if Jikia and Fernandez were present on the field, it would be a completely different story.

"It will be very difficult to replace Akinfeev in the national team"

- Didn't it seem to you that Anton Shunin made a mistake at the exit in the episode with the missed ball?

- Probably I agree with you.

There is some truth in this.

But everyone is wrong, and I would not blame one person.

- Recently, Marinato Guilherme has been demonstrating not a very reliable game, Soslan Dzhanaev and Anton Shunin made mistakes in the matches with Sweden and Turkey.

What is happening makes you remember Igor Akinfeev again?

- All the same, we will constantly talk about him as the # 1 goalkeeper of Russia.

And indeed, Akinfeev is a real lump in the good sense of the word.

The presence of such a person gives the team confidence.

In my opinion, at this stage it is very difficult to replace Igor in the national team.

- Do you think his return to the national team is real?

- Only Igor himself can decide this, and we can only guess.

But, of course, I would like such a goalkeeper to be in the national team.

- Has the time of Matvey Safonov come yet?

- I always say that we have Shunin, Guilherme, Safonov, Maksimenko and other strong, good goalkeepers.

But Akinfeev remains number one.

- Another person with whom you played together, Yuri Zhirkov, is still continuing his career in the national team and has played 90 minutes with the Turks.

Is the presence of a 37-year-old defender an indicator of his skill level, or an indicator that the team lacks quality players?

- Firstly, Zhirkov is a great football player, and secondly, a professional with a capital letter.

Yura, even at 37, corresponds to the level of the national team, so Cherchesov invites him.

He deserves a place in the starting lineup.

- But still, at this age, few continue to play for the national team.

- There are some who are 37 capable of playing for their national teams.

Among them is Zhirkov.

You can also remember Paolo Maldini, who ended his career at the age of 40.

And that's great.

I am very happy for Yura.

I wish him to continue to delight us with his game.

If health allows, why not continue helping the national team.

- Vyacheslav Karavaev played on the opposite flank of the defense.

Do you think Zenit defender has successfully replaced Fernandez?

- In general, yes.

Vyacheslav looked good.

But, again, there are players in Russia who are able to play in this position, but today Mario looks preferable.

He is more tactically competent and shows a better game in attack.

"In the near future Anton Miranchuk will become the team leader"

- Were you surprised by the appearance at the base of Daler Kuzyaev, who for several months remained without a club?

- In my time, Vladimir Beschastnykh played for the national team.

In 2001, he was left without playing practice for six months, but still continued to receive calls to the national team.

Oleg Romantsev, who was then coaching the team, trusted him.

And Vova constantly took to the field and scored important goals.

This is a very subtle point.

Yes, Kuzyaev was without a club for a long time, but a professional footballer can always get together for one or two matches.

And in my opinion, Daler coped with the tasks assigned to him.

- Anton Miranchuk scored a goal in the second official match of the Russian national team in a row.

Can we say that he finally felt like himself in the team?

- I think yes.

I won't be surprised if Anton becomes the leader of the national team in the near future.

Miranchuk is a good footballer, and there is nothing surprising in that.

It is growing and showing a high level.

And to combine them on the field with his brother Alexei is Cherchesov's task, after all, their bunch works from birth.

They feel each other perfectly.

I don't think that Anton's progress in playing is connected with his brother's departure to Italy.

He's just in good shape and has a game going on.

- Didn't it seem to you that by replacing Miranchuk with defensive midfielder Yuri Gazinsky, the coaching staff actually indicated a desire to defend a draw, and not get a victory?

“It didn't surprise me.

Stanislav Salamovich made the right move for such a game.

In my opinion, this castling was readable.

But I would not call Gazinsky an exclusively defensive player.

Yuri can give a good pass, he just acts a little more reliably in defense.

Cherchesov saw that a "hole" had formed in the center of the field, so he decided to cover it up.

- Reverse replacement of Andrey Mostovoy - a consequence of dissatisfaction with his game or tactical castling?

- Hard to tell.

Perhaps Cherchesov was really unhappy with his actions.

Or maybe it's just a little damage.

- Wasn't it worth also replacing Artyom Dziuba, who had a very difficult time in the last minutes?

- It was clear that Artyom "got fed".

But now the whole world plays like that.

Leaders will always have a heavy load.

Yes, he didn't score against Turkey, but he played well.

In playing along, the captain acted great.

Fans often expect only goals from Dziuba, although he does a large amount of less visible work.

He is constantly held by two defenders, but Artyom frees the zones for partners.

- But Alexander Sobolev was present on the bench, who scored in the previous match.

- Cherchesov sees his charges every day and feels them.

Only the coach knows better whom and when to release on the field.