The composition of the Russian national team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup

Russian team

The head coach of the Russian national team Stanislav Cherkasov believes in his pupils, claiming that today she has a strong squad and the players are in excellent shape. Missed 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers can affect team cohesion.

This deficiency can be compensated for by the fact that the main backbone of the national team on the list has been playing together for more than a year.

At the Conference Cup, the coach has tried various castling, but it is not clear yet whether he has found the optimal placement of the players. But the team does not have pronounced stars, so there is a possibility of various combinations.

Against strong opponents, Cherkasov uses a defensive system, transferring players from attack to defense. Against teams of equal strength, the main forces are thrown into the attack. This is very convenient if you skillfully assess the capabilities of your opponents in advance.

The honor of the country will be defended by 23 football players, almost all of them play for Russian clubs:

Goalkeepers … The Russian gates are defended by Andrey Lunev, Vladimir Gabulov, Igor Akinfeev. The leader of the team and its captain at the moment is Akinfeev. However, he is already 32 years old, for a footballer this is a lot, but there is no alternative in the team yet.

Defenders. Kudryashov Fedor, Granat Vladimir, Ignashevich Sergey, Semenov Andrey, Fernandez Mario, Smolnikov Igor, Kutepov Ilya, Kudryashov Fedor should repel the attacks of opponents.

Midfielders. On the midfield line are Kuzyaev Daler, Zhirkov Yuri, Cheryshev Denis, Samedov Alexander, Miranchuk Anton, Zobnin Roman, Dzagoev Alan, Erokhin Alexander, Golovin Alexander, Gazinsky Yuri. On this line, Alexander Golovin is recognized as a star. He has already shown himself perfectly at the just begun World Cup.

The player is famous for assists and excellent flair for the shot on goal. There are rumors that he was offered a contract by the Juventus club.

Forwards … The main forward is Smolov Fedor, he is assisted by Dzyuba Artem and Miranchuk Alexey. Smolov is an excellent player with a high technique of the game, recently he has shown himself little, but remains in the leading position in the team.

Starting line-up will be represented by Akinfeev, Ignashevich, Kudryashov, Kutepov, Fernandez, Zhirkov, Golovin, Kuzyaev, Samedov, Smolov. Possibly ongoing changes, especially in the midfield line.

Several footballers were forced to retire from the main squad of the Russian national football team due to injuries.

List of footballers who will miss the 2018 World Cup:

Kokorin Alexander;
Dzhikia Georgy;
Vasin Victor;
Kambolov Ruslan;
Dmitry Tarasov.

In this regard, the list was revised and corrected, young players from the youth squad were added.

Distribution of the Russian team

The Russians fell into Group A along with Saudi Arabia, Uruguay and Egypt. Uruguay was recognized as the leader of the group, the other two, if not weaker, then at least equal in strength to Cherkasov's pupils.

In 2014, the Russian national team was summed up by Akinfeev's mistake. He is talented, but his disadvantage is lack of technique and frequent risks. Today he has the opportunity to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of the world community.

In addition, according to experts, there are many experienced players in the roster. Smolov and Kokorin stand out from their list, who are in great shape and can show an excellent effective game.

Native stands are able to raise the confidence of football players in their abilities, because the games of the 2018 FIFA World Cup are held in their homeland, in the stadiums and cities familiar to them. Although the Federation's team is at the bottom of the world ranking, there is every reason to expect pleasant surprises from it and a game at a level higher than before.