FIFA World Cup: This is just the beginning, says Russia coach
Friday - June 15, 2018 12:46 pm ,
Category : SPORTS
FIFA World Cup: This is just the beginning, says Russia coach
Moscow June 15 (IANS) Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov has called for calm following his team s 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup Group A match.
The result on Thursday marked Russia s first win in football s showpiece event since a 0-2 defeat of Tunisia at the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. It was also the biggest victory margin in the opening game of a World Cup since 1934 reports Efe.
Such was the magnitude of the result that Cherchesov had to temporarily leave his post-match news conference to take a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"He asked me to share my congratulations with the team and told us to keep playing like this " the coach said after returning three minutes later.
When asked how the result made him and his team feel Cherchesov replied: "It s just the beginning. It could have been 1-1 and nothing would have changed.
"We need to get through the group. We won the first match in the (2017) Confederations Cup 2-0 but we didn t get very far. This result shows that we are on the right track. But we should turn the page now and focus on what s ahead."
The team s next fixture will be against Egypt on Tuesday and Cherchesov is expecting a tougher contest against the African side. He said he is still unsure whether star forward Mohamed Salah will play as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
"We will watch Egypt in the next match (against Uruguay on Friday) " Cherchesov said.
"We don t know if Salah is going to play or not. This is a big variable. But with or without him they are a very respectable team. With him of course even more so. The next game against them will be more complex."
Russia s celebrations were tempered by an injury to influential midfielder Alan Dzagoev. The CSKA Moscow player was forced off in the first half with a suspected torn hamstring.
"We don t know the complete picture considering how abruptly he stopped " Cherchesov said.
"He was in severe pain and couldn t continue running. His injury could be quite serious. He could miss the tournament. I don t want to spread any incorrect news. Let s see what the medics say. We would be very sad to lose him because we don t have many players at his level " he added.
--IANS gau/mr
The result on Thursday marked Russia s first win in football s showpiece event since a 0-2 defeat of Tunisia at the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea. It was also the biggest victory margin in the opening game of a World Cup since 1934 reports Efe.
Such was the magnitude of the result that Cherchesov had to temporarily leave his post-match news conference to take a call from Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"He asked me to share my congratulations with the team and told us to keep playing like this " the coach said after returning three minutes later.
When asked how the result made him and his team feel Cherchesov replied: "It s just the beginning. It could have been 1-1 and nothing would have changed.
"We need to get through the group. We won the first match in the (2017) Confederations Cup 2-0 but we didn t get very far. This result shows that we are on the right track. But we should turn the page now and focus on what s ahead."
The team s next fixture will be against Egypt on Tuesday and Cherchesov is expecting a tougher contest against the African side. He said he is still unsure whether star forward Mohamed Salah will play as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
"We will watch Egypt in the next match (against Uruguay on Friday) " Cherchesov said.
"We don t know if Salah is going to play or not. This is a big variable. But with or without him they are a very respectable team. With him of course even more so. The next game against them will be more complex."
Russia s celebrations were tempered by an injury to influential midfielder Alan Dzagoev. The CSKA Moscow player was forced off in the first half with a suspected torn hamstring.
"We don t know the complete picture considering how abruptly he stopped " Cherchesov said.
"He was in severe pain and couldn t continue running. His injury could be quite serious. He could miss the tournament. I don t want to spread any incorrect news. Let s see what the medics say. We would be very sad to lose him because we don t have many players at his level " he added.
--IANS gau/mr
