National Team Challenge: the national team will face serious rivals

The Russian national football team has started its second autumn training camp. In the coming week, Valery Karpin's team will play two friendly matches. On October 10, Russia will host the Iranian national team at the Volgograd Arena, and on October 14 it will face the Bolivian national team at the VTB Arena in Moscow. Read more about the composition of the Russian national team, as well as about the rivals of Karpin's team, in the Izvestia article.

Two newbies

Interestingly, Zenit defender Arsen Adamov was present in the original squad instead of Ruslan Litvinov. But a few minutes after the first publication, the picture was updated — and Arsen was no longer there.

Special attention should be paid to two newcomers. For the first time, Spartak's 25-year-old midfielder Nail Umyarov and Baltika's 29-year-old fullback Mingiyan Beveev were called up to the national team.

Many people were waiting for Umyarov to be called up to the national team back in September, but that didn't happen then. At the same time, Karpin said before the start of the last training camp that he continues to monitor Nail, sees his work and progress, but also noted that "there is high competition for a position in the center in the national team," and in this sense Kislyak, Glebov and Chernikov turned out to be preferable.

What happened this time? According to Karpin, it's all about minor health problems for Krasnodar midfielder Alexander Chernikov, who was out of the application.

"I've said more than once that we follow Nail and see his progress, so he was on our extended lists. He consistently shows good football at Spartak," Karpin quotes the official website of the RFU.

As for Beveyev, he plays an important role in the sensational success of Baltika at the start of the season in the Russian Premier League. Andrey Talalaev's team left for the October break, finishing in fifth place after 11 rounds. 20 points is the same as Zenit, and two more than Spartak. And the top three is only three points away.

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"Beveyev's challenge is primarily a reflection of the successful performance of the player himself, not his team. I always emphasize that the doors of the national team are not closed to anyone. Mingiyan performs well in games for the club, his challenge is a logical consequence of his game," Karpin said.

Among those who did not make it to the final list of the Russian national team for October, Zenit midfielder Andrei Mostovoy stands out in a special way. Commenting on his absence, Karpin noted that the reason was not his health problems, but the player's current condition. It's understandable: in the last three RPL matches, Mostovoy has been losing the competition to 19-year—old Brazilian winger Pedro, coming on only as a substitute (13 minutes against Krasnodar, 17 against Orenburg and 31 against Akron).

Rivals

The Iranian national team is a pretty strong team. In the current FIFA ranking, the Iranians are above Russia (21st place versus 33rd). Iran is one of the best teams in Asia. More precisely, the second best team in Asia, after Japan. Iran has not missed a single World Cup since 2014. The upcoming World Cup in the USA, Mexico and Canada in 2026 will not be an exception. However, the team has never left the group in its history. In the last two Asian Cups, in 2019 and 2023, the Iranian national team won bronze medals.

The Iranian national team is coached by a local specialist, 61—year-old Amir Galenoy, who is known for his work mainly in his homeland. In March 2023, Galenoy led the Iranian national team for the second time — the first time it happened in the summer of 2006, after the World Cup, and he left after the Asian Cup 2007.

Among the most famous players of the current Iranian national team, it is worth noting the 33-year-old former Porto and Inter striker Mehdi Taremi (57 goals in 100 matches for the national team), who now plays for Olympiacos, as well as 32-year—old winger Alireza Jahanbakhsh (17 goals in 95 matches) - since July He is a free agent, but he used to play for Dutch AZ Alkmaar, Feyenoord and Heerenveen and even managed to make some noise in the English Premier League for Brighton.

Among the players well-known to the Russian audience in the Iranian national team for the match with Russia, 26-year-old winger Mohammad Mohebi, who plays for Rostov, should be expected. But Serdar Azmun, known for playing for Rubin, Rostov and Zenit in the RPL, unfortunately, will not play. The other day, 30-year-old Azmun, who now plays for Shabab Al-Ahli from the UAE, suffered a fractured fibula.

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The Bolivian national team is currently 77th in the world ranking. But it's 10th among the CONMEBOL (South American Football Confederation) national teams.

The last time the Bolivians competed at the World Cup was in 1994 and did not get out of the group. Since that moment, the national team has never overcome the qualification barrier. But this time there will be another attempt. The thing is that in the last round of the South American selection, Bolivia won the right to play in the play-off matches, finishing in seventh place thanks to a sensational victory over the Brazilian national team (1-0).

The Bolivian national team is coached by 55-year-old Oscar Villegas. Oscar spends his entire playing and coaching career in his homeland. Before joining the national team in July 2024, Villegas coached a local club with the inspiring name "Olways Redi El Alto", which translates into Russian as "Always ready".

We will find out very soon how ready the players of the Bolivian national team will be for the match with Russia. And among these players, we already know defenders well: 26-year-old Roberto Fernandez and 22-year-old Yomar Rocha. Since this year, both have been defending the colors of not only their national team, but also the Tolyatti Akron.