Russia beat Azerbaijan 4-0 in a friendly on Wednesday, the first match after the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Russia’s Alexander Kerzhakov made a double followed by two powerful headers by defenders Sergey Ignashevich and Vladimir Granat.
You can watch the goals and the highlights here.
Russia will play its first Euro 2016 qualifier against Lichtenstein on September 8. The next opponent is Moldova, and the game will take place on October 12 in St. Petersburg.
It is expected to be the first serious test for the new squad that Fabio Capello, the national team’s coach picked after a boring performance at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
The team’s success, however, could be up in the air if Capello goes ahead with his threat to terminate his contract with the Russian Football Union over the pay delay.
Earlier, Russia-IC reported that Capello warned he might leave if the issue is not resolved by October 1.
The Sports Minister’s statement that Capello had not been paid for the past three months has been widely debated in Russia.
Fabio Capello, who’s been working with the national team since July 26, 2012, is set to stay with Russia until the 2018 World Cup that the country will host. The national team manager has extended his contract with the Russian Football Union even before the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Fabio Capello has now put together a new team ahead of the Euro 2016 qualifiers. The vast majority of pundits blamed him for dropping rising star Artiom Dzyuba, who finished the previous season as the top scorer of the Russian Premier League. Capello has lamented many times that good Russian forwards are few and far between but didn’t pick the Spartak player on his lineup. This time Dzyuba cannot be ignored. The aggressive forward scored 4 goals in three games for Spartak.
Author: Mikhail Vesely