In the June 16 match, Cherchesov should pull out all the trump cards that he has
Stanislav Cherchesov thoroughly examines the game of his players in each episode. Photo: RFS
The Russian national team has another match ahead, which will determine the fate of Russian football. In the last year with him, and so everything was not very good – the black streak of defeat in European competition strongly beat the pride of the Russian clubs. If the Russian national team cannot win against Finland, the 54th national team in the FIFA rankings, on June 16 at Euro 2020, it will be a crushing blow. The game with Finland is a border. Here and now it is necessary to decide where we are – on the other side of the Euro, together with the teams of the Finnish class, or on this side, where there is a chance to fight with Spain and Croatia.
Who are the Finns? And who is Pukki?
If something goes wrong, and there will be no victory, there will be no washing away from this black mark. Who are the Finns in modern football? Debutants of major tournaments who have never played in the final stages of the World and European Championships before Euro 2020. The main star of the Finnish national team is Teemu Pukki, the forward of the English Norwich City. He is 31 years old, and during his career he managed to play for Schalke and Celtic and Brøndby. But should the defense of the Russian national team be afraid of such a player?
The Finns also have a great goalkeeper – Lukasz Hradecki. This is the first number of the German “Bayer” and in the Bundesliga he saw stronger strikers than Artem Dziuba. There is also Glen Camara of the Rangers, the son of migrants from Sierra Leone, a graduate of London’s Arsenal. But this is where the short list of Finland’s notable players ends. Yes, they sensationally slammed Denmark in the first round – 1: 0. But one must understand the state of the Danes, whose comrade and friend Christian Eriksen had just experienced clinical death on the field.
The Finns will fight. The Finns will defend their goal. But still, this is only the 54th team in the FIFA rankings. Not to beat such a team is a fatal diagnosis for the whole of Russian football.
Nerves are playing against Russia
This is peremptory and annoying. The nerves of the Russian national team will play for the Finnish team. And when our players find themselves pinned to the wall, you can expect anything from them. They can get together and defend the match on their veins, as in the game with Spain. Or they can shamefully fly 0: 3, as in the game with Wales at Euro 2016.
But one thing is clear – the happiness of the Russian national team is buried somewhere near the Finnish gates. Everything will be decided by Cherchesov’s attack – a line to which there were many questions in recent matches. Everyone understands that the Finns will press their own penalty box. And Artyom Dziuba must become that jackhammer, which must open the concrete of someone else’s defense. If, of course, he wants to remain the # 1 footballer in Russia.