To see yourself, to show others: why does Russia need a match with Nicaragua

The Russian national team players will play their first match in 2026. On March 27, Valery Karpin's team will face Nicaragua. This is one of the weakest rivals of our team in recent years, but the organizers expect a full house at the stadium in Krasnodar.

Interest in the national team's game

As reported to Izvestia by the Russian Football Union (RFU), almost 30 thousand tickets were sold the day before the match. The capacity of the stadium in Krasnodar is 33 thousand people. Traditionally, interest in the national team's matches is high in the regions, regardless of the opponent's level. A year and a half ago in Krasnodar, about the same number of spectators came to the match with Brunei (11:0). In November 2023, more than 40 thousand people came to the game with Cuba (8-0) in Volgograd. In the same place, a year later, the match with Syria (4-0) was watched by about 35 thousand.

The national team of Nicaragua is on the 131st line in the FIFA ranking. This is not Cuba, Brunei and Grenada, which Russia has played before, but it is also far from the opponent in comparison with which our team's current level can be assessed. At the same time, problems have recently arisen with the next, more serious opponent.

Four days after the meeting with Nicaragua, Russia will play in St. Petersburg with Mali, a strong African national team, number 51 in the FIFA rankings. Formally, it is quite comparable with more high-class teams. But in the middle of the week it became clear that a significant part of the leading football players of the African team would not come to St. Petersburg. Thus, this game will not be a worthy test for Russians either.

— Unfortunately, in the conditions of suspension from competitions, our hands are very tied in terms of finding rivals, — Vyacheslav Koloskov, honorary president of the RFU, shared his opinion with Izvestia. — Strong rivals from friendly countries are preparing for the World Cup, while others have not yet completed their selection process. Those who have already missed the tournament are in demand as sparring partners for top teams. You have to choose your opponents based on the residual principle. Hence the team of Nicaragua in the first match, the minor team of Mali in the second. The Malians did an ugly thing by not taking the leading players to St. Petersburg, but there is no other way out — we have to play with those who agree to play. In any case, it is necessary to check the condition of the national team players and their compatibility on the field, even in such matches.

Spring starts: the Russian national team will test itself in Nicaragua and Mali

Valery Karpin's team will play the first friendly matches of 2026

Russia's squad for the match

Due to medical reasons, the Russian national team will not be able to use two of its regular players who were on the list for the next two matches — midfielder Alexei Batrakov and defender Igor Diveev. The first one was slightly damaged. The second one dropped out due to a cold.

The national team gathered on March 23 at the Krasnodar football club in Chetuka and has been preparing for the game with Nicaragua there all this working week. It is not yet clear whether the coaching staff will release the main squad for this match or give the reserves a chance.

"I would like to see the foundation in both upcoming matches," Dmitry Bulykin, a former striker for the Russian national team, told Izvestia. — After all, the national team is the face of the country. A lot of people will come to this match. And we need to show them the best players, who must first achieve a serious advantage in the game and score over the opponent, and only then we can change the base to the guys from the reserve. However, unfortunately, it often happens differently in our country.

The Izvestia interlocutor also noted that the match with Nicaragua would not answer the question about the state of the national team, but such games should still be held, regardless of the opponent's status.

— Obviously, Nicaragua is too weak a team to draw conclusions from the game about the level of our team, — added Bulykin. — Nevertheless, I am in favor of the RFU hosting such games, because it is still the national team of the country, the face of our football. Anyway, we need to get our guys together so that they can feel what it's like to play with each other and keep their tone. This is important for both experienced players who have been in the national team for a long time, and for the young ones, both for those young ones who have already gained a foothold in the national team, and for those who received a call from Karpin in advance.

Thanks to regular friendly matches, including against less powerful national teams, Russia has maintained relatively high positions in the FIFA rankings over the four years of its suspension from official tournaments. She is currently ranked 36th, which allows her to be in the last basket during the World and European Championships qualifying draws, when the team will again be eligible to participate in them.