The defender of the Russian national team Fyodor Kudryashov, who scored an own goal in the match with Croatia in the final tenth round of the qualifying tournament of the 2022 World Cup, was playing out the last minutes of the match with an injury. This was reported by Match TV.
In the 81st minute of the game, Kudryashov cut the ball into his own goal, while a few tens of seconds before his own goal, he held on to the back of the thigh and limped.
The head coach of the national team Valery Karpin, when asked by the journalist, whether he saw that Kudryashov was injured, answered in the negative.
After the game, Kudryashov’s Instagram was inundated with insults. Now the footballer’s page is open, but comments under the latest posts are closed. Despite the criticism from the public, the athlete was supported in the national team. The corresponding post appeared on the page of the Russian team in Instagram.
The defender of the national team Igor Diveev said on Match TV that the result of the meeting was not the most offensive in his career, and noted that he did not feel any special emotions because of this. “We didn’t play very well with Croatia, we could have played much better. We trained to control the ball, but it didn’t work, ”he appreciated the game.
Former Russian national team player Andrei Kanchelskis also spoke about the game of the Russian team. In his opinion, Karpin’s players fought with dignity, but fortune was not on their side. He also added that in normal weather, fans would see a different match.
Former owner of the football club “Spartak” Andrei Chervichenko called the defeat of the Russian team in Split very offensive, since the Croats had no chance. His words are reported by RIA Novosti.
Chervichenko compared Kudryashov’s own goal to the mistake made by ex-goalkeeper of the Russian national team Alexander Filimonov in a match with Ukraine in 1999, when the game was for a ticket to the European Championship. Two minutes before the final, the Russian team also missed the victory due to an own goal.
Former head coach of the Russian national team Valery Gazzaev told RIA Novosti that only Kudryashov cannot be blamed for the loss. In his opinion, the defeat of the Russian national team was deserved, as the team spent too much time on the defensive.
On November 14, the Russian team met in the decisive match with the Croats in Split. It ended with the score 1: 0 in favor of the hosts. Thus, the Russians scored 22 points and finished second in Group H, missing out on a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar. They will play two play-offs. The Croatians with 23 points took the first place and qualified for the world championship.
The World Championship will be held from November 21 to December 18, 2022 in Qatar. 32 teams will take part in the tournament. The draw for the finals of the World Cup will take place in April 2022.
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