Dzyuba, Fomin and Soldatenkov left the Russian national team before the game with Zambia

Striker Artyom Dzyuba, defender Alexander Soldatenkov and midfielder Daniil Fomin have left the Russian national football team and will not play in the friendly match against Zambia on March 25. This was announced by the Russian Football Union (RFU).

"The coaching staff of the national team has identified the players who will not play against Zambia. All three players were in the starting line-up on <...> friendly match with Grenada," the RFU website says.

The head coach of the national team, Valery Karpin, justified the changes in the squad by saying that the coaching staff would like to see as many players on the field as possible. He noted that in the match against Grenada, Soldatenkov spent the entire 90 minutes on the field, and Dzyuba and Fomin left the field only in the middle of the second half.

"Now they can rest and start preparing for the matches of the [Russian Premier League] championship and the Cup of the country," the RFU website quotes the mentor.

Knocked out by Dzyuba: the footballer became the best scorer in the history of the national team

The Russian national team defeated Grenada 5-0.

In the match against Grenada a day earlier, Dzyuba scored his 31st goal for the national team, becoming the top scorer in its history. The Russians defeated their opponent with a score of 5:0, in addition to Dzyuba, who scored two goals, Fomin and Zelimkhan Bakayev scored accurate shots.