Russia remain hopeful after Confed flop
West Ham star in bid to keep on improving
RUSSIA struggled for positives yesterday after they crashed out of the Confederations Cup on home soil in an ominous sign of how the hosts might fare at next year’s World Cup.
Football bosses shrugged off fans’ fears after the team’s early exit following a 2-1 defeat by Mexico in Kazan on Saturday, insisting the squad was making progress despite the disappointing results.
“The tournament is unfortunately over for us but we want to thank the fans,” coach Stanislav Cherchesov said in a video statement to supporters.
“While in sporting terms we didn’t manage to acheive what we wanted, in terms of morale then I think we took a step forward. Better times await us.”
Expectations among Russian fans were low ahead of the Confederations Cup as the national team struggled for form in a series of warm-up games.
Former goalkeeper Cherchesov has largely failed to get his players firing despite overhauling the squad since he was appointed less than a year ago after Russia’s woeful showing at Euro 2016.
He insisted that he would remain in charge with 12 months to go to the World Cup. “Three quarters of the squad have never played at this level, and with new players coming through all the time I’m WEST Ham United midfielder Michael Antonio knows footballers can be “forgotten in two weeks” and is determined to keep improving to avoid that fate.
Antonio started his senior career at semi-professional team Tooting and Mitcham United before joining Reading in 2008 and rising up the divisions, moving to West Ham in 2015. The winger has since made over 50 league appearances for the Hammers. optimistic about the future,” he said in his post-game press conference.
“I’ve worked with pleasure and will continue my work with the team. Probably even better than I’m doing now.”
Russia, who started the Confederations Cup with a win over New Zealand, crashed out of the event after the group stage following consecutive defeats at the hands of European champions Portugal and the most decorated CONCACAF team Mexico.
Television footage showed some furious fans walking out of the Kazan stadium before the final whistle in Saturday’s game.
“Shame on them! They showed no will to win! It’s just impossible to play for the country that way,” one fan told state TV.
But while football pundits in the country insisted that any anger was understandable, they said the supporters had to face up to the fact that, with the World Cup looming, the country needs to put its faith in the current batch of players.
“We all need to realise that we don’t have another team,” Dmitry Zelenov, an expert for the Sport Express newspaper, wrote.
“There should not be despair but faith. Faith that despite the flop we’re moving in the right direction.” — AFP
The 27-year-old had his best campaign in 2016-17 where he won the club’s Player of the Year award after scoring nine goals in 29 league starts to help the London side secure an 11th placed finish but Antonio aims to improve further.
“I never think ‘I’ve made it’ because, in football, you can be forgotten within two weeks and I don’t ever want to be forgotten. I want to always be better and make my career last as long as possible,” Antonio told the club’s official (www.whufc.com).
“It does make me proud to know where I’ve come from and how hard I have worked, but I’m also scared of it, because I know what I’ve had to do, and I don’t ever want to go back to that situation. It drives me more to be better.”
Antonio is recovering from a hamstring injury that ended his season in April but signed a new four-year contract at West Ham in May and is website confident target of season.
“I am so determined to have a great season, especially after the injury. My target at the start of last season was to improve and score more goals than I had the previous year,” Antonio said. “So next season... I want to get to that mark as soon as possible so that I can make it higher, keep pushing myself and keep getting better.” — Reuters that he can achieve his scoring more goals next