"The atmosphere in the national team was great"

The Russian national football team played two friendly matches in early June. Our team drew with Nigeria at home (1-1), and then defeated Belarus away (4-1). Matvey Safonov played the first match in goal, and Andrey Lunev played the second. Stanislav Agkatsev, who left the national team after the match with Nigeria, and Anton Mitryushkin were also in the goalkeeper team at the last training camp.

In an interview with Izvestia, Mitryushkin commented on the results of the Russian national team, expressed a desire to play for it next time, and also told what it was like to train with Safonov, who recently won the Champions League as the second goalkeeper with French PSG, and how the head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Karpin, has changed in 10 years after leaving Spartak.".

— How did the Russian national team's game against Belarus look from the outside?

"Well?" Of course, well done guys, we played a good game and won. Unfortunately, we conceded a goal, but on the whole, well done — we fought and tried. I think we won by a wide margin.

— The Russian national team had a long streak of eight consecutive matches without conceding goals, but it was interrupted in June. Why did the team start missing in the games against Nigeria and Belarus?

— After all, the level of the opponents has increased compared to the previous matches. At the same time, I can't say that there were many chances at our gates in the match against Belarus. But nevertheless, we scored. It was hard to see from the side what happened there, but it seemed to me that the shot turned out to be such that it was difficult for Andrey to hit the ball.

— Are the goals conceded unrelated to the fact that you were not on the field in both matches?

— Ha ha. Of course, I wanted to play, but there were no problems — the coaching staff decided that Matvey and Andrey should take the field. This is his right — he determines the squad for the match. So I accept that. But I hope to be able to play next time.

— You spent a training camp in the national team with Matvey Safonov, who played his first season at PSG as Gianluigi Donnarumma's understudy and won the Champions League. Does it feel like he has grown in terms of play during this time?

— It's hard to say, because we've only worked with him in two training sessions. But it's no secret that Safonov is a very good goalkeeper. I can say the same about Stas Agkatsev and Andrey Lunev. They're great goalkeepers too. And it was a pleasure to work with them at the last training camp, as well as with Matvey. And the atmosphere in the national team was great. Thanks to Vitaly Vitalyevich (Kafanov, goalkeeper coach. — Izvestia) for the training process, everything went great.

"I learned about my departure from Loko from the Internet and various rumors"

Football player of the Russian national team and Lokomotiv Alexander Silyanov — about the extension of the contract with the Railwaymen, rumors about the transfer to Zenit and Dynamo, and the matches of the national team

— As a person who played in Europe long before Safonov, did you give any advice to him or Daniil Khudyakov, who left for the Austrian Sturm last summer?

— We haven't discussed anything about this with either Matvey or Khudyakov. Anton Miranchuk was the only one who asked me about some nuances when he moved to Switzerland last year. And then it was more about everyday issues — about the club, about the championship, about local apartments, about all sorts of paper nuances on insurance and other aspects.

— This month, for the first time in a long time, you worked with Valery Karpin in the national team, under whose leadership you made your RPL debut for Spartak in 2013. Has he changed since then?

— He had a lot of charisma even then. And since then, Valery Georgievich has also gained experience and feels very confident. His confidence is transmitted to the players, which is very important. Karpin is a very good psychologist. And it was always very noticeable. But now he has more coaching experience, which also helps him.