The Russian team has not lost a single match in two years. Why is Karpin’s team still criticized?

Former Russian national team player Vladimir Bystrov was outraged by the national team’s draw in a friendly match with Kenya. Match TV reports this.

The ex-athlete called the Russian game a nightmare and horror. “Who were you saved from? Do you understand that the Kenyan team is just firewood? Just firewood! They are good marathon runners, that’s a fact. But they are bad football players. They just recently started wearing boots and got acquainted with the ball,” Bystrov said.

The former football player also noted that the players of the Russian national team, who received a chance in the match with Kenya, did not take advantage of it.

The Russian national team’s match with Kenya ended in a draw

The game took place on Monday, October 16, at the Titanic Mardan Stadium in Turkey. In the eighth minute, Russian national team forward Alexander Sobolev opened the scoring, but even before the break the Kenyans took the lead through the efforts of Anthony Akumu and Masood Juma. In the moments with both goals scored by the Africans, the defenders of the Russian team made serious mistakes. Ivan Oblyakov’s goal at the end of the match allowed the Russians to escape defeat.

In the FIFA rankings, the Kenyan national team is in 109th place; the Transfermarkt portal estimates the total value of the Kenyan squad at 23.35 million euros, which corresponds to the same figure for the Russian Premier League club Orenburg. Before the match in Turkey, the Russians had never met the Kenyans. According to the honorary president of the Russian Football Union (RFU) Vyacheslav Koloskov, the result of the match cannot be considered worthy.

Karpin said that the Russians underestimate the Kenyan national team

According to the specialist, his team started the match well, scored an early goal, but missed an optional return goal. “Maybe it sounds like an excuse. Game score,” added Karpin. He also noted that in the second half the Russians tried to turn the tide of the match, but were able to start playing only at the end of the match. Karpin emphasized that the Russians underestimated their opponent.

According to former Spartak and USSR national football player Evgeniy Lovchev, Karpin made a mistake when choosing the starting lineup. The specialist called on the head coach of the national team to abandon large-scale rotation of players. “I’m addressing Karpin specifically – stop fooling us by putting in a different lineup over and over again. It has already reached the point that Alexander Golovin comes to the national team and says – I don’t know everyone by name. This is logical, because the composition changes all the time,” Lovchev wrote in his Telegram channel.

Before the match with Kenya, the Russian team beat Cameroon

On October 12, Karpin’s team met Cameroon at the VTB Arena in Moscow. The game attracted a decent audience of more than 20 thousand fans. The Russian team started the match very actively. The home team attacked in large numbers, willingly applied pressure and were clearly counting on a quick goal. However, the Africans coped with the initial onslaught and leveled the game in the 15th minute, simultaneously starting to create dangerous chances at the Russian goal.

However, at the end of the half, the Russians regained the initiative and mounted several interesting attacks. Cameroon national team goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa coped with Daler Kuzyaev’s shot from outside the penalty area, but capitulated to Fedor Chalov. The Russian finished the ball into the net after his own shot. In the second half, both teams had chances to score, but no one was able to score. The Russians achieved an important victory, for which they received points for the FIFA ranking. Russian midfielder Daniil Glebov in an interview with “Championship” noted the atmosphere at the stadium.

The leader of the Russian national team Golovin missed the matches with Cameroon and Kenya due to injury

On October 16, the Transfermarkt portal updated the transfer value of the Russian midfielder of Monaco Alexander Golovin, which increased by 2 million euros and reached 30 million. The midfielder cost the same amount at his peak in 2018. However, in the matches with Cameroon and Kenya, the Russians were forced to do without their leading player, who was in excellent shape. Golovin arrived at the national team’s location, underwent a medical examination and, according to the team’s head coach Valery Karpin, felt discomfort “in the same place where he had the injury.” They decided not to risk the player’s health and sent him back to the club.

In addition to Golovin, the Russian national team could not count on midfielders Artem Karpukas and Maxim Glushenkov, called up from Lokomotiv Moscow, due to injuries. The first did not come to the national team’s location, and the second left after undergoing a medical examination.

The Russian national team has not played in official matches since the fall of 2021

In the spring of 2022, Karpin’s team was supposed to compete for a ticket to the World Cup in Qatar in the play-offs, but the International Football Federation (FIFA) permanently suspended the team from all tournaments under its auspices. A similar decision was made by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). Since then, the Russian national team has played only in friendly matches, in which they have not suffered a single defeat, and almost all of them take place outside the country. The game with Cameroon was the first match in Russia in the last two years.