From bad to worse
World Cup hosts Russia suffer first defeat against African side
MOSCOW: Stanislav Cherchesov’s ability to coach Russia to the 2018 World Cup was under the spotlight after the hosts hit a new low with a first defeat to an African team.
Cherchesov and his dispirited squad were whistled off the pitch by furious fans in eastern Krasnodar after England-based pair Jonathan Kodjia and Wilfried Zaha fired Ivory Coast to a 2-0 friendly win on Friday.
It was Cherchesov’s third defeat in six matches since taking over in August – the other two coming against Costa Rica and Qatar last year.
And it raised questions about the ability of Russia, ranked 60th by FIFA, to compete among the elite with the Confederations Cup just three months away and the World Cup – for which they qualify automatically as hosts – next year.
The 53-year-old former Soviet goalkeeper took over after Russia’s disastrous Euro 2016 campaign.
But with the clock ticking he faces a daunting task with the defeat in front of a capacity 34,000 crowd on Friday exposing serious problems in the team coupled with a dearth of young emerging talent.
The coach and squad were lambasted in the Russian press on Saturday.
“I’m disappointed,” Russian coach Valery Nepomnyashchy, who guided Cameroon into the 1990 World Cup last-eight round, said.
“The team showed obvious lack of creative moves and sharp passing. There was no balance between the attack and defence.”
But former Soviet footballer Gennady Orlov, now a television pundit, saw a “team that lacked devotion”.
“Football is a game of courageous people, while our players showed obvious lack of courage,” said Orlov.
Italian football agent Marco Trabucchi blamed the domestic league’s limit on the foreign footballers for generating the weakest crop in the country’s history.
“Don’t scold the Russian team, it’s their true current level,” Trabucchi wrote on his Twitter page. “It’s the weakest generation in the country’s history. We should thank the limit – super idea!”
Russian Premier League rules limit the number of foreign players on the pitch at one and some experts believe this stifles competition in the league.
“Because of the foreign-player limit, (Russian) players don’t face competition for a spot in their club’s line-up,” Sport Express columnist Igor Rabiner said, adding that the national squad were not accustomed to pushing their limits.
Cherchesov has work to do with Belgium – ranked fifth in the world – next up in a warm-up match tomorrow.