Cherchesov's experiments, Kudryashov's injury and Dziuba's passivity: conclusions about the control match Russia - Bulgaria

The loss of Kudryashov is a disaster for the national team

Unfortunately, the main result of the friendly against Bulgaria was the injury of Fedor Kudryashov.

Along the already problematic line of defense of the Russian national team, she dealt a serious blow.

It is doubly offensive that the defender got her during the pre-match warm-up, making a banal acceleration.

The importance of an experienced footballer for the national team is difficult to overestimate, because he played 45 matches for it - and all under the leadership of Stanislav Cherchesov.

He has missed only a few matches over the past five years.

However, the coach did not change the formation of three central defenders.

Most likely, this indicates that it will also be used in the starting meeting between the Euro and Belgium.

And in terms of position, Kudryashov's place on the field was taken by Andrei Semyonov.

The big question is who will keep him and Georgy Jikia company in the game with the bronze medalists of the last World Championship.

In a friendly match with Bulgaria, Cherchesov made a bet on the nominal defensive player Dmitry Barinov, but there are also young Igor Diveev and Roman Evgeniev on the roster.

The latter must be promptly included in the application due to damage to Kudryashov.

But, most likely, a CSKA footballer who took part in games with both Bulgarians and Poles will get a place at the base.

Barinov in the line of defense - an interesting decision

The appearance in the center of the defense of Barinov was a real surprise from Cherchesov.

Thus, he demonstrated that he is not afraid to take risks on the eve of the continental championship, because Dmitry played very few matches in this position.

The experiment can be considered quite successful. The defensive skills of the Lokomotiv midfielder were quite enough to cope with his direct responsibilities. But with the possession of the ball of the Russian national team, he actually climbed higher to the position of a defensive player and started the team's attacks. As a rule, Barinov performed forward passes to Artyom Dziuba, who, in turn, made discounts on incoming partners.

But in the game with Belgium, the appearance of Dmitry in defense is still unlikely.

First, the load on protection will be fundamentally different.

Bulgaria acted as number two, had possession of the ball only 33% of the time and delivered only two hits, and Barinov's work in destruction was minimal.

In the confrontation with the "Red Devils" the situation will be completely different.

Moreover, it will be difficult for a nominal midfielder who is not tall to compete with powerful forwards such as Romel Lukaku.

In the meantime, it remains to be hoped that the head injury received by Barinov in the second half will be frivolous.

In the fight for the ball, the opponent broke the Russian's nose, after which they decided to change Dmitry to Diveeva.

A change with two pivots lowered the attacking potential

If in recent meetings Cherchesov played a rhombus in the middle of the field, then in a confrontation with Bulgaria he decided to change the scheme.

Roman Zobnin and Magomed Ozdoev settled in the support zone, while Alexander Golovin and Alexey Ionov supported Dziuba from the flanks.

The midfielders of Spartak and Zenit coped with their direct duties perfectly.

The Bulgarians not only practically did not attack through the center, but also almost did not approach the other's goal.

But there were difficulties with creation.

The problem is that both are rather destroyers and are not able to quickly find an interesting option for developing an attack, such as Alexey Miranchuk, who remained on the bench.

As a result, in the first half, the Russian national team practically did not attack through the center, more often shifting to the right flank.

And not Ozdoev and Zobnin were looking for Dziuba with the ball, but Barinov.

At the same time, Golovin found himself locked on the left edge and could not fully reveal all his functionality and control the game as he did in the diamond.

Probably, in the game with Belgium, Cherchesov will bet on the same scheme in order to concretize the support zone and not allow the opponent's stars to penetrate into the penalty area through the middle.

But in matches with Denmark and Finland, the team can return to the diamond, which will allow the same Golovin to conduct the game.

Miranchuk lost his place at the base

If we consider that the match with Bulgaria was a rehearsal for the meeting with Belgium, then Miranchuk will not get a place in the start next Saturday.

In the confrontation with Poland, Alexey entered the field from the first minutes, but did not act too brightly.

To some extent, Cherchesov's experiment with the simultaneous use of its two main stars turned out to be unsuccessful.

However, in games with Denmark and Finland, where Russia may have more possession of the ball, the coach may well return to him.

But in the match with the Belgians, the domestic team will have to defend a lot, and in this regard, the presence of Miranchuk on the field, who does not always refine in pressure, can become a problem for the team.

On the other hand, on Saturday the Atalanta footballer actively entered the game and even managed to earn a penalty.

Perhaps this will increase his chances of appearing at the base next week.

Yes, and Alexey Ionov, located on the right flank of the attack, did not play in the best way.

To the gallery page

Dziuba dealt one blow in two games

In general, the captain of the Russian national team had a good match with Bulgaria.

He regularly won martial arts and performed good discounts on partners.

However, it was alarming that Dziuba did not have chances to score.

Moreover, he did not strike a single blow on someone else's goal.

In the previous meeting with Poland, the striker had only one inaccurate shot from a long distance.

Zero goals in two control games ahead of Euro and one shot on goal is not the best indicator for a striker.

However, rather, it should be taken calmly.

Experienced Dziuba does not waste his emotions in non-decisive matches, but saves them for the main tournament, for which he should have enough strength and motivation.

We can only hope that Artyom will score all his goals at the continental championship.

But Alexander Sobolev managed to distinguish himself.

The Spartak forward came on as a substitute in the 58th minute and converted a penalty.

This goal became for him the third in six matches for the Russian national team.

It is curious that in all cases he was different, entering the game from the bench.

It is possible that the next effective action will help Sobolev to gain a foothold in the role of Dziuba's first replacement.