Russia’s success raising more than few eyebrows

Cloud of suspicion hovers over host country in light of previous doping indiscretions, writes Kurtis Larson.

Russian coach Stanislav MOSCOW Cherchesov rarely sheds a smile.

He’s the most prickly manager at this World Cup when — not if — he inevitably becomes irritated.

Two things were clear amid Cherchesov’s pre-game news conference Sunday: He’s sick of damning doping allegations and he doesn’t care at all for English media.

The 54-year-old scowled when a reporter introduced himself as working for The Daily Telegraph.

“Ah, England, OK,” he interrupted with a smirk.

The question posed didn’t explicitly accuse the Russians of doping. It did, however, inquire as to whether FIFA had initiated any extra testing on Cherchesov’s players ahead of today’s meeting with Uruguay.

“Excuse me, is this a question for the match or philosophy? I don’t understand,” Cherchesov interrupted again.

Skeptics of Russia’s national team point to a suspicious uptick in performance, given the hosts entered this tournament as the 70th-ranked country in the world.

Impressive wins over Saudi Arabia and Egypt were scrutinized by skeptics who sounded alarms after viewing Russia’s superior fitness analytics.

Midfielder Aleksandr Golovin covered an astounding 12.7 kilometres in Russia’s opening win — more than any other player in the tournament.

As a team, the hosts have covered more ground than any other squad at this World Cup. In fact, Golovin’s teammates — Alexander Samedov and Iury Gazinsky — have covered more distance than anyone not named Golovin.

Travis Tygart of the U.S. AntiDoping Agency told the Telegraph Russia’s “extraordinary” performance at this World Cup demands more stringent drug testing, especially after a Russian doping scandal rocked the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Cherchesov had read the reports ahead of Sunday’s news conference. He interrupted another questioner later in the availability.

“Excuse me, I don’t speak (good English) like my players, but I understand what you mean,”hesaid.

Then he took a pragmatic approach, arguing his players would need to show they’re more than physical specimens.

“If nobody has noticed anything but the runs and sprints, we’ll have to add something on,” Cherchesov said. “That’s what we’re going to do.”

He reminded the room his team’s conditioning was just as good during last summer’s Confederations Cup.

“There is some inner motivation,” he added. “The greatest motivation is we’re playing at home and the public supports us.”

Tournament organizers haven’t commented on whether Russia’s national team has faced additional testing. LOOKING AHEAD

Cherchesov and Uruguayan coach Oscar Tabarez vowed to not rest players despite both of their Group A teams having already qualified for the knockout stage. Both managers are likely forecasting Spain to top Group B and meet the loser of Sunday’s meeting between Russia and Uruguay.

“I will not reveal anything. I’ve said that tomorrow’s match is important in order to develop,” Tabarez said about his lineup. “There was a journalist who said eight possible changes could take place. I won’t comment on that at all.

“We won’t think about resting any players in this sense. We don’t show up like that. We want to play seven matches within a month.

“We’re preparing for that. We know what kind of generation is necessary. Fatigue is not a topic in our team right now or going forward.”

Russia and Uruguay are basically meeting for the right to face a much weaker Portuguese team in the Round of 16.

THIS AND THAT

Say what you will about Panama getting spanked by England. There was something special about aging Felipe Baloy, a Panamanian football legend, finding a goal against England. If their celebrations didn’t fill you with emotion, you might not have a soul … Because “winning ” at the World Cup means different things to different countries, just getting there can be enough. Scoring one goal can be enough. Earning a single point can be enough. Advancing from the group can be enough. This tournament is about more than who wins it … For those soccer snobs out there blabbing on about how Panama shouldn’t be at this tournament, try this on for size: more than 50 per cent of CONCACAF teams have advanced beyond the group stage at the previous nine World Cups.

ALL SQUARE

England and Belgium sit even in Group G on everything (wins, goals, goals against, goal difference and points).

If the two Round of 16 qualifiers draw in their head-tohead matchup, the group will be decided by “FIFA Fair Play Points.”