Russia
Russia - Group H (Belgium, Algeria, Korea)
Russia's predecessor, the Soviet Union has been absent on the world stage until the 1952 Olympics and then entered the World Cup in 1958. They had been a regular at finals, missing only twice, but Russia couldn't live up to the bequest after the breakup of the Union, mainly owing to loss of talent, especially to Ukraine
Profile - Soviet Legacy
As with the case of non-footballing aspects, Russia inherited the former Soviet Union's records and legacy when the eastern bloc collapsed at the end of the cold war. Even after the breakup, several Ukrainian players represented Russia in their first World Cup in 1994, as Ukraine didn't secure a FIFA affiliation by then
Although the Russian team performed poorly since the 90s, they have improved a lot in the recent past. They have solid defense which didn't let more than a goal in any qualifying match although they tend to be vulnerable from headers
Confederation: UEFA (Europe)
Coach: Fabio Capello (ITA)
FIFA Ranking: 18 (8-May-2014)
Nickname: Sbornaya (The National Team)
Key Players: Akinfeev, Shirakov, Fayzulin
Legends: Yashin, Blokhin, Streltsov
History - Divided They Fall
Although Russia just qualified for two World Cups and exited both of them at group stages, as Soviet Union they fared much better attending another seven tourneys and securing a fourth place in 1966. They have also won an Olypic gold in 1956, a Euro cup in 1960
Qualification - Resurgence
Expected to be ending up in second place behind the strong Portugal team, Russia surprised everyone by winning the Group F of UEFA qualifiers and snatching the automatic qualification spot away. They won all their home games while losing a couple on the road
Prospects - Set for Knockouts
Barring any set backs, Russia is tipped to qualify from Group H to the round of 16. Although they may not entertain a chance of an upset against all-round Belgium, they seem stronger than the other two opponents to make the cut. But their knockout prospects doesn't bode well as they are set to meet a powerful Germany at the first outing
Squad
Goalkeepers:
Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Lodygin (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergey Ryzhikov (Rubin Kazan)
Defenders:
Vasili Berezutskiy (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo Moscow), Andrey Eshchenko (Anzhi Makhachkala), Sergey Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexey Kozlov (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Andrey Semenov (Terek Grozny), Georgi Schennikov (CSKA Moscow)
Midfielders:
Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Yury Zhirkov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexey Ionov (Dynamo Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Victor Faizulin (Zenit St Petersburg), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St Petersburg), Pavel Mogilevets (Rubin Kazan)
Forwards:
Maxim Kanunnikov (Amkar Perm), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexander Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow)
June 6: Captain Roman Shirokov has been ruled out due to knee injury
May 12: Russian coach Fabio Capello announced a 30-man provisional squad
June 6: Captain Roman Shirokov has been ruled out due to knee injury
May 12: Russian coach Fabio Capello announced a 30-man provisional squad
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