| The Russian national team has one foot at the World Cup In Belgrade, our national football team took perhaps a decisive step towards the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The Russian team won a wonderful victory over the Yugoslav team - 1:0 and completed the first round of the qualifying tournament as the sole leader.
After this victory, we have the right not only to count on first place in the group, but even to demand it. Probably, in the remaining first round match, the Yugoslavs will defeat the Faroe Islands, but even in this case, the Russian team will be five points ahead of its main competitors. Considering that our team will host both the Yugoslav national team and the Swiss team on their field, it would be simply stupid to waste such a significant head start.
At first glance, the problems with the roster experienced by the Russian team due to injuries to a number of leading players allowed one to hope for a draw at best. Oleg Romantsev even had to urgently resort to the help of Sokol striker Andrei Fedkov, who a year ago played in the first division. And the rookie did not disappoint. In the first half, Fedkov was active and, although he did not have any clear chances to score, he did not spoil his debut. But Egor Titov could score twice, but both of the midfielder’s shots went above the goal.
When releasing the team for the second half, Oleg Romantsev made a seemingly illogical move - instead of Fedkov, who looked decent, Vladimir Beschastnykh came out, who had no playing experience this season. However, this replacement paid off. It was Beschastnykh who scored the only goal, finishing off Rolan Gusev's pass with a beautiful jump.
“The guys played to the limit of their capabilities and still managed to win,” Maxim Buznikin, who remained in Moscow due to injury, told the Vremya Novostey newspaper. “But I expected more from the Yugoslavs.” It would seem that in the situation their team found themselves in, they should have rushed and thrown. Fatigue and an unfavorable psychological environment must have affected their play. For us, this victory is key, opening the way for us to the World Cup finals. We can say that we already have one foot in Korea and Japan.”
However, you should not fall into euphoria. There is still a second match ahead with the Yugoslavs in Moscow. And the Slovenians, as the recent match showed, are not whipping boys. And if we remember that the Swiss team also intends to compete for at least second place, Romantsev’s charges should remain extremely focused.
It should be noted that, like any other match involving the Russian team, this meeting could not have happened without riots organized by our militant fans. This time, Russian fans had a real opportunity to compare the force of a blow from a Yugoslav police baton with a blow from their own riot police. Andrey VDOVIN |
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