In a glittering ceremony today in Russia, FIFA has unveiled its mascot for the 2018 World Cup.
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Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Russia. Show all posts
Tuesday, 18 November 2014
Sunday, 17 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #9
What a turnaround.
A lot of people were backing Russia as outside bets for the championship and after thumping the Czech Republic 4-1 in their opening game, suddenly they weren't so far outside. A draw with Poland meant they went in against an abject Greece side only needing a draw even if the other game produced a winner. Goalless as the clock ticked on to 45 minutes, suddenly Giorgios Karagounis - who has scored once in the last two seasons at Panathinaikos and missed the penalty against Poland - found himself in space inside the box and fired one across the goal and inside the far post. Russia chucked everything at the Greeks, but for the first time in the competition, Greece found some defensive fortitude.
After two draws, Poland needed to win to progress and started brightly. But after the 20-minute mark it all fell apart. As if someone had thrown a switch, suddenly they were totally unable to keep hold of the ball in a Wrocslaw downpour. Having weathered that opening 20 minutes, the Czechs grew into the game and found the breakthrough half way through the second half, Petr Jiracek with a nice drag-back and measured finish. Poland pressed late on, but as time ticked down they were never likely to get the two they needed. But with Greece ahead in the other game, had they got one, both Poland and the Czechs would bow out. Tomas Sivok headed the one goal-bound effort - from Polish skipper Jakub Blaszczykowski - off the line in the dying stages.
Word had got to the Greeks in Warsaw that the Czechs had won as their game headed into stoppage time, sparking a minor celebration. A minute later, the whistle went for the final time in their game and the celebrations started for real. Czech Republic top the group on six. Greece come next, level on four with Russia, but ahead by virtue of the head-to-head record. Russia and Poland are out and, after one game in the group, that's pretty much completely backwards to what everyone thought. Also, you would not have this scenario in a 24-team competition which is what we'll have in four years time. As daft ideas go, that's one of UEFA's worst.
Today, Group B. Can the Netherlands pull off a similar great escape?
A lot of people were backing Russia as outside bets for the championship and after thumping the Czech Republic 4-1 in their opening game, suddenly they weren't so far outside. A draw with Poland meant they went in against an abject Greece side only needing a draw even if the other game produced a winner. Goalless as the clock ticked on to 45 minutes, suddenly Giorgios Karagounis - who has scored once in the last two seasons at Panathinaikos and missed the penalty against Poland - found himself in space inside the box and fired one across the goal and inside the far post. Russia chucked everything at the Greeks, but for the first time in the competition, Greece found some defensive fortitude.
After two draws, Poland needed to win to progress and started brightly. But after the 20-minute mark it all fell apart. As if someone had thrown a switch, suddenly they were totally unable to keep hold of the ball in a Wrocslaw downpour. Having weathered that opening 20 minutes, the Czechs grew into the game and found the breakthrough half way through the second half, Petr Jiracek with a nice drag-back and measured finish. Poland pressed late on, but as time ticked down they were never likely to get the two they needed. But with Greece ahead in the other game, had they got one, both Poland and the Czechs would bow out. Tomas Sivok headed the one goal-bound effort - from Polish skipper Jakub Blaszczykowski - off the line in the dying stages.
Word had got to the Greeks in Warsaw that the Czechs had won as their game headed into stoppage time, sparking a minor celebration. A minute later, the whistle went for the final time in their game and the celebrations started for real. Czech Republic top the group on six. Greece come next, level on four with Russia, but ahead by virtue of the head-to-head record. Russia and Poland are out and, after one game in the group, that's pretty much completely backwards to what everyone thought. Also, you would not have this scenario in a 24-team competition which is what we'll have in four years time. As daft ideas go, that's one of UEFA's worst.
Today, Group B. Can the Netherlands pull off a similar great escape?
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #5
From ITV's vantage point in Warsaw, you had a hint as to what was going on elsewhere in the city. Behind the assembled punditry team were lines of riot vans and tooled-up rozzers. On Russia's national day, somehow it managed to kick off ahead of Poland v Russia, not helped by the city authorities allowing a march by Russians through the streets of Warsaw. Perhaps they thought it better to allow this and contain it as best they can for fear of further stoking trouble, but 300 years of often bitter conflict between the two nations is always likely to overspill even when Russians aren't marching through the Polish capital and unfurling a huge banner inside the ground declaring 'This is Russia'. It was a busy night for police with over 100 arrests, water cannon and plastic bullets deployed. In short - what a mess.
There was some football too. Firstly, the Czech Republic beat Greece after coming flying out of the blocks and scoring two in the first five minutes. Firstly, a delicious Tomas Hubschmann through-ball met a well-timed diagonal run from Petr Jiracek who beat Kostas Chalkias easily. Theodor Gebre Selassie looks a tidy full-back and got forward to good effect shortly afterwards, his speculative ball across the six-yard line was not dealt with - or dealt with very badly - by both goalkeeper and two defenders. Vaclav Pilar squeezed between two and poked it in with his knee. And the cue pretty much went in the rack at that point. Greece were not good, but did get a lifeline from Petr Cech who fumbled a routine ball into the path of Theofanis Gekas who doesn't often spurn open goals. These mistakes have been becoming more common in Cech's game which has to be a worry for club and country. But the Czechs held out against Greece's pop-gun attack with little further alarm.
On the field, Russia and Poland served up a treat. End-to-end football throughout was highly enjoyable and a draw probably the right result. Alan Dzagoev got his third of the tournament, looping an Andrei Arshavin cross past Przemyslaw Tyton with his shoulder with ten minutes left in the first half. The equaliser came on the hour, Jakub Blaszczykowski curling an absolute beauty beyond the reach of Vyacheslav Malafeev. Perhaps there are signs of discord in the Polish camp though as Ludovic Obraniak was clearly miffed at being subbed off late on. Prior to the tournament, he'd been vocal in expressing the difficulties he and Damien Perquis - both French-born - were having in integrating into the side. Hopefully for Poland, it was just frustration and there are no underlying issues that resulted in Obraniak's bottle-kicking strop.
Russia lead the group on four points from the Czechs on three, Poland on two and Greece on one. Russia can only be eliminated if they lose to Greece and there is a winner in the Poland v Czech Republic game. A draw is enough for the Czechs in their last game - Poland need to win, no matter what happens elsewhere, as do Greece.
Today, it's group B and it could all be over if Denmark and Germany both win their games against Portugal and the Netherlands respectively.
There was some football too. Firstly, the Czech Republic beat Greece after coming flying out of the blocks and scoring two in the first five minutes. Firstly, a delicious Tomas Hubschmann through-ball met a well-timed diagonal run from Petr Jiracek who beat Kostas Chalkias easily. Theodor Gebre Selassie looks a tidy full-back and got forward to good effect shortly afterwards, his speculative ball across the six-yard line was not dealt with - or dealt with very badly - by both goalkeeper and two defenders. Vaclav Pilar squeezed between two and poked it in with his knee. And the cue pretty much went in the rack at that point. Greece were not good, but did get a lifeline from Petr Cech who fumbled a routine ball into the path of Theofanis Gekas who doesn't often spurn open goals. These mistakes have been becoming more common in Cech's game which has to be a worry for club and country. But the Czechs held out against Greece's pop-gun attack with little further alarm.
On the field, Russia and Poland served up a treat. End-to-end football throughout was highly enjoyable and a draw probably the right result. Alan Dzagoev got his third of the tournament, looping an Andrei Arshavin cross past Przemyslaw Tyton with his shoulder with ten minutes left in the first half. The equaliser came on the hour, Jakub Blaszczykowski curling an absolute beauty beyond the reach of Vyacheslav Malafeev. Perhaps there are signs of discord in the Polish camp though as Ludovic Obraniak was clearly miffed at being subbed off late on. Prior to the tournament, he'd been vocal in expressing the difficulties he and Damien Perquis - both French-born - were having in integrating into the side. Hopefully for Poland, it was just frustration and there are no underlying issues that resulted in Obraniak's bottle-kicking strop.
Russia lead the group on four points from the Czechs on three, Poland on two and Greece on one. Russia can only be eliminated if they lose to Greece and there is a winner in the Poland v Czech Republic game. A draw is enough for the Czechs in their last game - Poland need to win, no matter what happens elsewhere, as do Greece.
Today, it's group B and it could all be over if Denmark and Germany both win their games against Portugal and the Netherlands respectively.
Saturday, 9 June 2012
Yesterday at the Euros #1
(file this section under M for making a rod for my own back, but anyway....)
Day 1 of Euro 2012. Ahead of the opener, consensus said that opening games are boring. Not a bit of it. Poland came flying out of the blocks against Greece in the new national stadium in Warsaw (pause here to insert joke about restricted views because everywhere you're behind a Pole) with the impressive Robert Lewandowski heading home after 17 minutes. The controversial sending off of Sokratis Papastathopoulos gave Poland a numerical advantage, but Wojciech Szczesny conspired to give Greece parity on the scoreboard and on the field by messing up a routine bit of goalkeeping and then getting sent off. Przemyslaw Tyton's first touch of the ball in this tournament was palming away Giorgios Karagounis's penalty.
The second game saw Russia eviscerate the Czech Republic and, had Alexander Kerzhakov brought his shooting boots, it could/should have been half a dozen or more. Instead, profligacy in front of goal left the Czechs with a chance, especially after pegging it back to 2-1early in the second half, but with Alan Dzagoev and Andrei Arshavin pulling the strings, it finished 4-1. Russia were mightily impressive.
A good first day then, but all the talk about the two yellows Papastathopoulos picked up. The first might have been harsh, but once on a yellow, there has to be an awareness that another bookable offence is going to end with a red and a stupid little tug-back produced that very result. Cue much whinging about refereeing. There's a lesson in this, as there is in most things, in the lyrics of Half Man Half Biscuit, specifically the last verse of I Went To A Wedding (about 3.20 into the following clip). Bonus namecheck of Brad Friedel.
Tomorrow, Group B, the group with four of the world's top ten on current FIFA rankings, however much import you impart to those.
Day 1 of Euro 2012. Ahead of the opener, consensus said that opening games are boring. Not a bit of it. Poland came flying out of the blocks against Greece in the new national stadium in Warsaw (pause here to insert joke about restricted views because everywhere you're behind a Pole) with the impressive Robert Lewandowski heading home after 17 minutes. The controversial sending off of Sokratis Papastathopoulos gave Poland a numerical advantage, but Wojciech Szczesny conspired to give Greece parity on the scoreboard and on the field by messing up a routine bit of goalkeeping and then getting sent off. Przemyslaw Tyton's first touch of the ball in this tournament was palming away Giorgios Karagounis's penalty.
The second game saw Russia eviscerate the Czech Republic and, had Alexander Kerzhakov brought his shooting boots, it could/should have been half a dozen or more. Instead, profligacy in front of goal left the Czechs with a chance, especially after pegging it back to 2-1early in the second half, but with Alan Dzagoev and Andrei Arshavin pulling the strings, it finished 4-1. Russia were mightily impressive.
A good first day then, but all the talk about the two yellows Papastathopoulos picked up. The first might have been harsh, but once on a yellow, there has to be an awareness that another bookable offence is going to end with a red and a stupid little tug-back produced that very result. Cue much whinging about refereeing. There's a lesson in this, as there is in most things, in the lyrics of Half Man Half Biscuit, specifically the last verse of I Went To A Wedding (about 3.20 into the following clip). Bonus namecheck of Brad Friedel.
Tomorrow, Group B, the group with four of the world's top ten on current FIFA rankings, however much import you impart to those.
Thursday, 31 May 2012
Euro 2012 Goalkeepers yelling at defenders #39
Russia are the third team in group A that we'll have a look at via the tried and trusted mechanism of goalkeepers yelling at defenders.
Igor Akinfeev
Anton Shunin
Vyacheslav Malafeev
With Akinfeev recovering from injury in time for the competition, it'll be interesting to see if Dick Advocaat goes with him or Malafeev who played the majority of qualification. He'd better hope both those two remain fit as Shunin looks a callow youth with low yelling at defender abilities.
Igor Akinfeev
Anton Shunin
Vyacheslav Malafeev
With Akinfeev recovering from injury in time for the competition, it'll be interesting to see if Dick Advocaat goes with him or Malafeev who played the majority of qualification. He'd better hope both those two remain fit as Shunin looks a callow youth with low yelling at defender abilities.
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