Rolling stock: which of our players will play against Peru and Chile?

The coaching staff of the Russian national team has published an expanded squad for friendly matches with strong Latin American rivals — Peru and Chile. About who was included in the preliminary list, and the logic of the decisions of the mentor of the team, Valery Karpin, is in the material of Izvestia.

"We will take the preparation as seriously as possible"

A total of 39 players are included in the expanded Russian national team. Of the new faces who may make their debut for the national team in the future, there is only one person on the list — Baltika goalkeeper Maxim Borisko, who was already on the expanded list a month ago.

Notable players who have not played for the national team for a long time include Alexander Sobolev (last game in 2023) and Arsen Zakharyan (2024). They were also on the extended list for the October meetings, but did not make it to the final one. Alexander Golovin, the most famous legionnaire, is also on the list.

—Sasha is always happy to come to the national team to play and benefit the team," Alexander Klyuev, the player's agent, told Izvestia.

But the ex-captain of Spartak, Georgy Dzhikiya, who performs well in the Turkish championship (10 matches for Antalyaspor and two goals), did not receive a call.

— Why is Georgy not in the national team? We need to ask Valery Karpin this question," said Vladimir Kuzmichev, an agent of Jikii. — He is the head coach who forms the team. He probably hasn't seen what he wanted to see from George yet. I think Karpin's assistants are watching how Georgy performs. We must be patient. Did he deserve to be on the extended list? I think so, but I'm biased. If I had chosen, George would definitely have been on the extended list.

Karpin himself commented on his choice.

"We have matches against strong rivals, the national teams of Peru and Chile,— Karpin was quoted as saying by the national team's press service. — We will take our preparations as seriously as possible, especially considering that both matches will be home matches for the Russian national team. Therefore, it was not worth expecting any experiments when forming an expanded list.

The expanded list traditionally includes players who have performed best in recent matches for their clubs. It also includes several players who have not had much practice in recent games, including those who are recovering or have recently recovered from injuries. Their abilities and potential are well known to the coaching staff. First of all, we are talking about the Dynamo leader Konstantin Tyukavin.

"It's nice that Valery Georgievich could have saved the player to some extent," Alexey Safonov, Tyukavin's agent, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia. — After the crosses, Kostya comes out. Maybe it's a gesture of psychological support. The fear of joints, as I understand it, has disappeared. It's already good. I felt the taste of the goal. Moving on, from game to game.

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At the same time, it was taken into account that the work schedule at the training camp provides for only two pregame and two recovery workouts — there will be no time and opportunities for a "smooth immersion" in the preparation process.

— For show, no one was included in the expanded list — each of the players has the opportunity to prove their need for the national team in the remaining matches before the break. Everything will depend on the level of their performances and their functional state," Karpin said.

Goalkeeper acquaintance

The goalkeeper coach of the national team, Vitaly Kafanov, spoke about the situation with the goalkeepers.

— Four people will remain in the final squad, — said Kafanov. — There are two more rounds of the RPL ahead, and it is possible that someone who was not on the extended list will be called up for the November training camp. The coaching staff continues to monitor the candidates for the national team. For example, it can be noted that in this round of the RPL, Akron goalkeeper Vitaly Gudiev was recognized as the best player of the meeting with Lokomotiv.

According to the coach, there is a main group of goalkeepers who are consistently called up to the national team: Matvey Safonov, Stas Agkatsev and Alexander Maksimenko. The coaching staff is getting to know the rest of the guys now.

— If it turns out, I would like to see in the training process and in the case of Maxim Borisko, — said Kafanov. — As always, I want to give the opportunity to play to all the goalkeepers who will be in the final squad for the training camp. We have serious opponents ahead of us, and we want to test what our goalkeepers are capable of against such strong teams as Peru and Chile.

The Russian national team will play Peru on November 12 in St. Petersburg. The match with Chile will take place on November 15 in Sochi.