By Andrew Warshaw
June 20 – They were pretty much no-hopers as the lowest-ranked team in the FIFA world rankings, came into the tournament in desperately poor form and were expected to join South Africa as the only hosts to be eliminated at the group stage.
To suggest that Russia have confounded the critics is biggest understatement of the World Cup so far.
Tuesday’s 3-1 win over Egypt meant that Stanislav Cherchesov’s side have had the best start – not the worst – of any hosts in history, a vital boost for a tournament that faced losing much of its atmosphere and local interest had Russia been knocked out early.
So how has it happened? After all, Russia had gone on a record seven-game winless streak entering the competition, had called 38-year-old centre-back Sergei Ignashevich out of international retirement and been roundly denounced by the local media which claimed it would be a miracle if they survived for very long.
“It is not an accident that we have two wins under our belt, we have a group of solidarity,” explained Cherchesov as his team all but made the knockout stage for the first time since the Soviet era. “We do not use the word ‘problem’ around here.”
“But the World Cup is not awarded to the team that scores eight goals first. We took a step into the next round and now we have to see how we have to prepare for what happens next. We have to do our homework.”
He’s right of course. While Villareal’s Denis Cheryshev, one of only two foreign-based players in the squad, has been an unexpected revelation, Russia have not yet been tested in what is arguably the easiest group. Indeed their goalkeeper and captain Igor Akinfeev has only faced one shot in the opening two games, Mohamed Salah’s penalty for Egypt, which means he has yet to be forced into a save in open play.
Cherchesov is not a man to who engages in small talk but has seen his team peak at exactly the right time, brimming with confidence as they have turned the form book upside down despite a string of injuries. How far can they realistically go? He wouldn’t say but pointed to the squad’s togetherness as a driving force.
“We’ve dealt with difficulties as soon as they emerged. We learned from the mistakes that didn’t allow us to succeed in the past. It is a group of solidarity and cohesion.”
Not words many Russian fans expected to hear.
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