Cheryshev becomes a star
DENIS Cheryshev had been the odd man out in Russia’s team. Now he’s the breakout star, tied with Cristiano Ronaldo as the World Cup’s top scorer.
Raised in Spain at the Real Madrid academy, he used his slick technique and tactical awareness to score three goals as Russia won its first two games at its home World Cup.
Not bad for a man who, before the tournament, had played only 33 minutes under Russia’s current coach and hadn’t started an international game since 2015.
“Thank God that I could score three goals in two games, but my aim is just to help the team,” said Cheryshev, who plays as a winger for Villarreal. “If other players score, I’ll be happy for them, too.”
Cheryshev is one of only two players in Russia’s squad who play for foreign clubs – the other is third-choice goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov – and for a long time, national-team coaches overlooked him.
When he finally made Russia’s World Cup squad, he wasn’t expected to start the first game, and didn’t.
What changed was midfielder Alan Dzagoev’s hamstring injury 24 minutes into the opening game against Saudi Arabia, with the score at 1-0. Cheryshev came on and 19 minutes later, he scored, dummying past two Saudi defenders. His second was an elegant curling shot in stoppage time.
“I could never have dreamed of anything like this,” he said after that game.
On Tuesday, he finished off a smart team move through the Egyptian defence.