Russian national team at Euro 2016: who is to blame and what to do?

The participation of the Russian national team came to an end at the European football championship, after the defeat in the third group match against Wales (0: 3). After three games the Russian team ended up at the fourth place in Group B with one point. The first place was taken by the Welsh team (6 points), England is second (5 points) and Slovakia is in the third place (4 points).

Creative producer and presenter at Vesti FM Gia Saralidze noted in an interview with ‘Vestnik Kavkaza’ that the fact that the result reflects the current level of the Russian football. 

"Only a miracle could have helped the team. The draw in the first match against England was a miracle. The Russian team had the lowest FIFA rating position in the group. In addition, the national teams of Wales and Slovakia have such top players as Gareth Bale and Marek Hamšík, let alone the English team,’’ he said.

"Every time the team performs badly we start discussing children's and youth football. But then when it is time to allocate money we forget to invest in children and the infrastructure. That is why we have such results," the expert said.

Sports commentator Nikolai Saprin said that the result of the Russian team at Euro 2016 can be equally called a failure and an objective level of the current team. 

"Now it is clear that a lot of work needs to be done to have more than three dozen players to choose from. The fact is that our team showed its best, but it does not mean that they are not to blame. They had a choice, but decided to choose money instead of playing abroad in leading leagues. There is nothing to be surprised at,’’ he said.