RUSSIA Russia’s friendly against Ghana Tuesday evening is Stanislav Cherchesov’s first home game in charge of Sbornaya. After getting a 0-0 draw in his debut as head coach of Sbornaya against Turkey last week, Stanislav Cherchesov’s Russia are now playing their first game on the soil of the motherland since the failure at the Euros three months ago. The game against Turkey was promising considering the many changes Cherchesov made in the squad, but Sbornaya is nevertheless under pressure to step a level up and get a victory at home.
Tactical approach
Labelling Cherchesov’s tactical approach at this stage is difficult since it is only his second in charge of Sbornaya, and more importantly because he seems determined to break the inefficient and failing structures of his predecessors Fabio Capello and Slutsky.
Against Turkey, the Alagir-born head coach utilized what looked mostly like a 3-6-1 formation with FC Krasnodar striker up front and Lokomotiv Moscow playmaker Aleksey Miranchuk just behind him. However, considering how some of Russia’s strongest players are actually full-backs – players such as Igor Smolnikov, Yuri Zhirkov and Mario Fernandes – this is likely to change in the future.
The system that seems to fit Russia the best is, in my humble opinion, a narrow 4-4-2 with a central midfield diamond with two wingbacks to provide the width. Against better opponents, this could be made into a 5-3-2, with three central defenders and then just three central midfielders as well.
Smolnikov, Zhirkov and Fernandes are all excellent wingbacks, and in midfield the likes of Tarasov, who is unfortunately injured for this match, Ozdoev, Miranchuk and Shatov all have the necessary offensive skills to dominate games, but also the fitness level to work both ways. Up front, the pacey Smolov is an obvious match to target man Artyom Dzyuba.
Key players
Fyodor Smolov:
Smolov is by far the best Russian player these days. The FC Krasnodar striker scored 20 goals in the league last season, and has scored six in this already. Despite his obvious success, Slutsky was reluctant to use him, and Smolov was, as we saw at the Euro, wasted by playing a far less important role on the wing. With Dzyuba injured and Kokorin doing God knows what, Smolov is Russia’s only quality striker, and his pace makes him a constant threat to the defence.
Vasiliy Berezutskiy:
Vasiliy Berezutskiy was the only of the three defenders who started against Turkey that participated in the Euro. In the absence of former team-leaders Roman Shirokov and Sergey Ignashevich, the 34-year-old CSKA Moscow defender plays an important role in keeping the many young players under control. Berezutskiy’s physique might be failing him, but as long as his intelligence doesn’t go missing, he will have a role to play for Sbornaya.
Igor Akinfeev:
Despite how boring it is to highlight a goalkeeper, there is no way of getting around Igor Akinfeev. For better or worse, Akinfeev has been and will continue to be the symbol of Russia’s performances internationally. Whether his performances are bad like we saw it at the World Cup two years ago, or incredible like we saw it against England when Russia got away with a draw in the opening match at the Euro, he cannot be ignored.
Predicted line-up
Akinfeev – Kudryashov, Berezutskiy, Novoseltsev – Zhirkov, Shatov, Neustädter, Ozdoev, Samedov – Miranchuk – Smolov
Match prediction
As I have written on this site earlier, Cherchesov needs a good start to win back the love and trust from the fans, and I’m sure he is fully aware of that. Therefore, I expect Russia to attempt to play some offensive and entertaining football, which should be enough for a victory against a Ghana side who isn’t on the same level as earlier.
GHANA Going into their fixture against Russia on Tuesday, Ghana can be summed up as a team that gets good results when performing poorly. In this calendar year they’ve dispatched Mozambique with a comfortable 3-1 win at home and have beaten African minnows Mauritius 2-0 in a less than slick manner, with a draw away from home to Mozambique sandwiched in between. On Saturday the Black Stars drew against Rwanda with a second string side in Accra. These disjointed performances span all the way back to November last year when they tied with Comoros in Mitsamiouli.
Tactical approach
The conventional opinion on Ghana’s current manager, Avram Grant, is that he changed very little during Chelsea’s run to the Champions League final in 2008 and when he’s needed to implement his own style at club level afterwards, he’s been a failure. That seems completely believable because as of now, the problem with Ghana is that there is no clear tactical approach. They don’t adjust tactically to their opposition match by match but there isn’t a consistent pattern of play. The side do not defend as an organised unit when in their own half and there is no pressing system either. Since most of the sides the Black Stars come up against are not in the same stratosphere as them talent wise, they often get away with relying on individuals to earn results. The lack of defensive organisation means that a swift, technical, counter-attacking side or an intelligent possession team could carve them open.
Recent games have seen both a 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 being used. In attack, when the opposing team is in a deep block, Ghana rely on balls into the channel towards the main centre forward (Jordan Ayew or Asamoah Gyan) and try and play from there. On the counter, Gyan or Ayew hold the ball up before playing it to an onrushing winger to run onto. It’s a basic approach that works against the low-level opposition Ghana face, but will it hold up against Russia? Key Players
Christian Atsu:
Atsu has had a very up and down club career and will hopefully revitalise it on loan at Newcastle, but he normally performs at international level. If he plays, he’s a big threat on the right flank. His pace and trickery should come in useful against a Russia side that appear to struggle against that type of player.
Jordan Ayew:
The younger of the Ayew brothers made a very poor career decision when moving to Aston Villa; it made him look worse than he is. When representing the Black Stars the striker works tirelessly- holding up the ball, working back defensively and running channels.
Samuel Tetteh:
Somewhat of an unknown (which might make him more dangerous) Tetteh is a rangy, left winger with a bullet shot.
Predicted lineup
Kwarasey – Rahman, Boye, Kadri, Afful – Acquah, Wakaso, Partey/Duncan – Tetteh/Acheampong, Atsu/Yeboah – J. Ayew
Match prediction
Russia 3-1 Ghana
credit: russianfootballnews.com