Moscow: Russia will face a stiff test of their ambitions ahead of the Confederations Cup that the country will host in June when they meet Belgium in a friendly on Tuesday.
But Russia, who hit a new low with a first ever defeat to an African team on Friday, will need to up their game if they are to to chalk up a first win over Belgium in the post-Soviet era.
Russian players were whistled off the pitch by furious fans in Krasnodar after England-based pair Jonathan Kodjia and Wilfried Zaha fired Ivory Coast to a 2-0 friendly win.
Belgium — currently fifth in Fifa rankings — look clear favourites, having also won three of their four matches with Russia, including the most recent one at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, and drawn the other.
“Our opponents are a team of a very high level,” Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov said of the Belgians, who reached the last eight at the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 European championships.
“Belgium stand out compared to other opponents, but it’s not the first time we’ve faced a top-class team.
“Last year we also played Ghana, who were the semi-finalists of the last African Nations Cup, and Costa Rica and we’re scheduled to meet Chile in June. We try to chose serious opponents for our warm-up games.”
Still missing from the Russian squad is Alexander Kokorin, the Zenit forward dropped for his lacklustre performances in recent matches and not only because the 25-year-old was penalised for a widely reported traffic rules violation in his Bentley.
“I flew to watch Zenit’s match at Anderlecht, I watched some of their other matches. The players’ current form is the only criteria for us,” championat.com site quoted Cherchesov as saying.
Up front, the Russians will likely have to do without Krasnodar’s Fedor Smolov, the Russian league scoring leader with 11 goals, and Zenit striker Artem Dzyuba, both carrying injuries.
The match with Belgium will be the first ever football game played at Sochi’s Fisht arena and will serve as a serious test for the venue.
The stadium, which hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in 2014, was then transformed into a 47,600-seat football ground, where four matches of the Confederations Cup, including a semi-final, will be played in preparation for the World Cup.
