QATAR 2022: RUSSIA IN POLE POSITION

Russia are in pole position in Group J of the European qualifiers ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament after they took advantage of dropped points from former leaders Croatia. The 2018 World Cup hosts became the new leaders in their group after an impressive 2-1 win at the home of Slovenia last week Monday.


Apart from Russia, Croatia and Slovenia, the other teams in Group J are Malta, Cyprus and Slovakia. Ahead of the eighth round of games in the group held last week Monday, Croatia held on to the summit from Russia via goal difference. Continue reading

RUSSIA RECORD SUCCESSIVE W/CUP QUALIFYING WIN 

 

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Russia have now won their last two World Cup 2022 qualifying games after the latest win, a 2-0 victory at home to Malta on Tuesday night. The Russians have beaten both Cyprus and Malta since the goalless draw at home to Group H leaders Croatiaearlier this month.

The stalemate with Croatia preceded the away win over Cyprus for the Russians. Russia secured a 2-0 win at the home of Cyprus thanks to the goals from Aleksandr Yerokhin and RifatZhemaletdinov either side of the halftime break. Continue reading

RUSSIA: EURO 2020, TOURNAMENT TO FORGET

The Russians had a tournament to forget after their participation at Euro 2020 was deservedly cut short at the group stage. Russia were drawn in a relatively good group alongside Belgium, Denmark and first timers Finland in Group B but they made heavy work of it by finishing last at the end of proceedings in the group.

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Russia started the Euro 2020 tournament in the worst possible manner losing 3-0 to Belgium who are the number one team on the FIFA Rankings. The Russians didn’t lay a finger on the Red Devils of Belgium and they could have conceded more than just the three goals. In their second Group B encounter, AlekseiMiranchuk scored on the stroke of half-time to give Russia a 1-0 win over Finland.
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SPURS TO MISS OUT ON VITORIA

North London giants Tottenham Hotspur are set to miss out on another of their managerial targets according to the reports emanating from the media in Portugal.

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Former Benficamanager Rui Vitoria had previously emerged as one of the targets being considered for the permanent manager’s job at Tottenham Hotspur. However, the report from Portuguese media portal O Jogo claimed that Vitoria is on his way to Russia.
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FRENCH CUP: MONACO SECURE SEMI-FINAL SPOT

Russia national team playmaker AleksandrGolovin was the catalyst that AS Monaco needed to beat hosts Lyon to the lone semi-final spot on offer in the French Cup earlier this week.

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Golovin played the entire duration of the second half as Monaco sealed a 2-0 away win over Lyon in their French Cup quarterfinal clash on Wednesday courtesy two second half goals from Frenchman Wissem Ben Yedder (penalty) and Kevin Volland within the space of seven minutes.
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MONACO UNBEATEN RUN ENDED AT STRASBOURG

Russia player Aleksandr Golovin could not prevent his AS Monaco team from falling to a shock 1-0 loss to hosts Racing Strasbourg in one of the week 28 games played on Wednesday. Week 28 set of games are the latest matches played in the French Ligue 1 and it saw AS Monaco lose ground on the top three teams in the quest to win the league title for the first time since the 2016/17 season. Russia player Golovin has been an important player for AS Monaco in the recent unbeaten run of 14 games in all competitions but he could not do much to stop his team from falling to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of home team Strasbourg. Before the defeat, AS Monaco had gone 13 games without defeat in the league. Russia player Golovin started the Strasbourg game and was largely ineffective until his withdrawal in the second half. The Russia player lasted for 73 minutes before being replaced by KrepinDiatta for the final minutes of the game. Golovin was one of the stars of the last World Cup tournament for Russia on home soil. He was an important player as Russia reached the quarterfinals before they were beaten by Croatia, who went on to reach the final of the tournament. Russia claimed a major scalp in the round of 16 as they defeated Spain on penalties to progress to the quarterfinals.


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EX-PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYER MOVES TO RUSSIA

Former Newcastle United and West Brom striker Salomon Rondon has moved to Russia to continue his football career. The Venezuelan international player signed for CSKA Moscow in the Russian Premier League earlier this week. Several media reports linked Salomon Rondon with a move back to West Brom before his transfer to Russia was confirmed this week. West Brom are in need of goals in the Premier League this season as they try to avoid returning back to the English Championship after one season in the top flight.

West Brom have a lot of work to do if they are to escape relegation from the Premier League this season. Salomon Rondon would have provided them with goals and Premier League experience but the club decided to sign MbayeNiang on loan from Galatasaray in the Turkish top flight. MbayeNiang scored his first goal for the Baggies at the weekend but it was not enough as they played out a 1-1 draw at home to title chasers Manchester United. Continue reading

RUSSIA: GOLDEN BOOT CONTENDERS REVEALED

 

The Golden Boot race in Russia is perfectly poised ahead of the resumption of the league in the New Year. 19 matchdays have been played in the Russian Premier League and matchday 20 won’t be played until the end of February 2020. The Golden Boot race contenders have two months to prepare for the remainder of the football season in Russia. Two players from Russian Premier League leaders Zenit St. Petersburg are leading the race for the highest goalscorer at the end of the current season next summer. The two players have scored a big fraction of the goals that have propelled Zenit St. Petersburg to the top of the table as they bid to hold on to the title they won last season.

Zenit St. Petersburg have had a contrasting campaign in Europe this season after they finished bottom of their group in the Champions League with just a solitary point. Their league form is a complete opposite of their European form. Zenit have a four-point lead over CSKA Moscow at the top of the table as far as top flight football in Russia is concerned. They have won 12 and drawn five of their 19 league outings in this campaign.
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ZENIT IN POLE POSITION FOR TITLE

 

Zen it St. Peters burg are in a fantastic position to win the league title in Russia this season after they saw off nearest challenger Spartak Moscow when the two teams met for a top-of-the-table clash on Wednesday. Zenit didn’t enjoy a good campaign in Europe this season and they can atone for their poor European campaign this season by winning the Premier League title in Russia again.Zen it St. Peters burg were in a relatively good Champions League group with the likes of Bo Russia Dortmund FC of Germany, Italian outfit Lazio and Belgian champions Club Bruggebut that was inspirational enough for the players who performed woefully with a solitary point recorded at the end of the group campaign.


Zenit didn’t represent Russia well after a record of one draw and five defeats in Group F. It was not surprising that the team from Russia finished rock bottom, while third-placed Club Brugge dropped down to the Europa League. Group F winners Borussia Dortmund and runners-up Lazio both advanced into the Champions League round of 16 and they have both been paired with Sevilla and holders Bayern Munich respectively in the quest to secure a place in the quarterfinals of the competition.
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