The goalkeeper question in the Russian national team does not lose its relevance, especially in the light of the decision of Stanislav Cherchesov to call Matvey Safonov into the national team, who managed to issue a "cracker" for the youth team in the game with the Estonians (4: 0).
After the departure of Marinato Guilherme, who passed a suspicious test for COVID-19, and Soslan Dzhanaev's hesitant actions against the Swedes, the coaching staff had only one real candidate to start a meeting with the Turks from the first minutes - Anton Shunin.
It was him who was thrown into battle by Cherchesov, once again demonstrating his conservatism: Safonov, in order to earn a place in the squad, in addition to an excellent game for Krasnodar, will still have to get used to the national team.
It is possible that the opinion of the goalkeeping coach Gintaras Stauche was decisive.
Of course, the factor of Shunin's home stadium could also have affected.
The missed ball gave rise to a debate about whether the goalkeeper could save his team.
So, the famous football manager Ilya Herkus even asked the appropriate question on Twitter: "Was Shunin wrong?"
He was answered by a popular commentator in the recent past, and now blogger Vasily Utkin: “I could help out.
Difficult situation, not a mistake. "
In any case, in the second half, only the saves of the gate guard and luck saved the Russian team from defeat.
Why after the break the team sank sharply is a more pressing question.
In this meeting, Cherchesov's team was very much like Rostov in the Europa League qualifying match against Maccabi from Haifa.
Valery Karpin's wards then also actively started, scored the ball and kept the game under control.
But after 30 minutes they suddenly stood rooted to the spot.
The break did not help either, and the Israelis had no difficulty in scoring two goals for the team, which not only stopped going forward, but also offered almost no resistance from behind.
Alexey Ionov took part in both matches, both times came out at the "start" and in both cases his presence on the field remained practically unnoticed.
For some, this is just a coincidence, for others - a reason to think.
Cherchesov generally showed reluctance to make adjustments to the composition in comparison with the victorious meeting with Hungary (the match against the Swedes had a friendly status, and therefore does not count).
Both reshuffles were forced: Giorgi Jikia and Mario Fernandez, as you know, dropped out for the same reason as Guilherme.
They were replaced (in fact, not in terms of position) by Yuri Zhirkov and Vyacheslav Karavaev.
At the same time, Fedor Kudryashov left the flank to the center of defense, making a bunch with Andrei Semyonov.
For many years, the Akhmat defender was called up to the national team as a reservist, was present in the application for the 2014 and 2018 World Championships, and now he not only got the opportunity to play a lot, but actually became indispensable in his position.
Kudryashov must be given credit for his willingness to move to an unusual position for the sake of a common cause.
In addition, he plays in the Turkish championship and is probably the best in the current convocation of the Russian national team to know the peculiarities of many players from this country.
At the same time, of course, their tandem with Semyonov is by no means a bundle of dreams.
But the coaching staff has no choice in this traditionally scarce role for Russia.
Alexander Zhirov and Maxim Belyaev have not yet been tested.
The first plays in the second Bundesliga, the second in the Tula "Arsenal", but this is obviously not enough to start in such an important match.
In the game with the Swedes, Cherchesov gave Ilya Kutepov a chance to prove himself, who, even in Spartak, is content with the role of a substitute.
It turned out so-so: in the episode with the first conceded goal, it was Kutepov who lost the position in the fight for the ball to Alexander Isak.
The actions of Semyonov and Kudryashov did not cause concern, while their partners in the front line were in possession of the ball.
However, when fatigue fell on the defenders, as well as on the others, it became anxious first of all for the center of defense.
And although there were no outright failures near Shunin's possessions, it always seemed that the fast forwards of the Turkish national team would at some point run away from his opponents.
Tellingly, this is not the first time this has happened.
From the outside it seemed that the Russians were exhausted in the second half of the matches with the Hungarians and Swedes.
And if in Budapest it was still possible to write off what happened to relaxation after achieving a solid advantage (3: 0), then in Moscow the Russians clearly wanted to achieve a result, but could not.
Here it is worth considering that the members of the national team have serious problems with "physics".
No wonder 37-year-old Yuri Zhirkov was the best of the field in the game with the Turks, who is famous for his ability to keep himself in combat form.
The situations in the last games of the national team, as well as the match between Rostov and Maccabi, among other things, show the level of the Russian Premier League.
Perhaps, players who are accustomed to the low tempo of the domestic championship simply find it difficult to act for all 90 minutes at higher speeds, they “eat up” and start making mistakes.
According to the veteran of the national team Alexander Mostovoy, in the episodes with goals conceded from the Swedes and Turks, the lack of class and skill of Russian players affected.
And it is true why Cherchesov's team scored only two goals in two matches in their field, although it was not opposed by France or Germany.
Artyom Dzyuba played the whole game with the Turks.
Undoubtedly, the captain really cool missed the ball to Anton Miranchuk in the scoring episode.
But in general, he could not disperse attacks, and often there was no one to throw off the ball.
Dziuba also did not succeed on the "second floor", where the jumping Alexander Sobolev is traditionally good.
Surprisingly, the striker did not deserve the right for at least a few game minutes, despite the goal of prestige to the Swedes.
The same Mostovoy was pretty surprised because of the absence of Zelimkhan Bakaev, who "can surprise."
In general, the replacements made by Cherchesov puzzled not only the famous midfielder in the past.
Thus, Denis Cheryshev, who was mistaken in elementary situations, clearly did not get into the game.
Andrei Mostovoy had to be put back on the bench by the mentor.
Although it is the midfield that is the only line in the national team where Cherchesov has a wide choice even in the absence of Alexei Miranchuk and Alexander Golovin.
It seemed that Mostovoy was scared of the debut in an official match, and Cheryshev lost his rhythm a little due to a long absence of playing practice.
The same, by the way, applies to Daler Kuzyaev, who threatened the gate of Mert Gunok three times.
In at least two cases, the midfielder who returned to Zenit had to score.
But without playing for the club twice a week, he may have lost his sense of the moment and made poor decisions.
On Wednesday, the Russians will fight the Hungarians for the first place in the group.
Considering the second half of the Budapest match and the home game with the Turks, it is possible that for Cherchesov's charges this will be a hidden match of the year.
In November, the national team will have many times harder.
Not only will the final matches with Serbia and Turkey be played away, but they will also have to enter the field after the start in European competitions, where teams will play three matches in two weeks.
Consequently, in the second League of Nations, the team can suffer the same fate as in the first - after a confident start, it runs the risk of greasing the finish line and losing first place.