Sport
Russia Coach Says His Team Played Well Despite Draw with Super Eagles
Russia’s head coach Valery Karpin praised his team’s performance after their 1-1 draw with Nigeria in the friendly at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Friday. The game saw Semi Ajayi score an own goal to give Russia the lead, but Nigeria fought back through Tolu Arokodare’s equalizer.
Karpin highlighted Russia’s high pressing and direct style of play, as well as their strong defensive effort, which limited Nigeria to very few shots on target. He also singled out goalkeeper Maduka Okoye for making several important saves during the match.
“I can’t recall a single moment where we were really threatened except for a mistake during a play out,” Karpin said after the game. “Nigeria didn’t create much danger, but we had our chances. Melekhin and Barinov both came close after set pieces. The goal we conceded wasn’t really from pressure — it was just a lapse.”
Russia had previously beaten Zambia 5-0 in another friendly, but Karpin acknowledged that Nigeria and Cameroon are at a higher level than Zambia and Kenya. “They’re all strong, athletic teams, but Cameroon and Nigeria stand out with higher quality and power. The FIFA rankings back this up. You just can’t compare them. Nigeria and Cameroon make the games more exciting,” he added.
Super Eagles defender Calvin Bassey has opened up about a difficult period in his career, revealing that he almost stepped away from football.
Speaking during a recent interview, Bassey shared that he once made a personal promise to himself to quit pursuing football professionally if he failed to secure a spot at a professional club.
“I remember being 15 and going into my final year, and I told myself that if I didn’t get into a professional club, I would quit football. It was that simple,” he said.
“I would just stop pursuing it seriously and only play for fun. Thank God I eventually got a club, because I honestly don’t know where I would be otherwise.”
It has been reported that the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined Egypt $5,000 following their clash with Zimbabwe for failing to manage post-match media obligations.
It was noted that after the match, the Egyptian players ignored the media. This action was said to be a violation of CAF’s media regulations, which led to the fine being imposed.
Head of the Super Eagles, Eric Chelle, shared that the big-name players on the team are not happy about being benched.
He recalled when he took out Samuel Chukwueze during the match against Tanzania.
“Yes, of course, we’ve in this team a lot of big names. They are competitors; they aren’t happy when they go to the bench,” Chelle said at his post-match interview.”
“My job is to make choices, and we’re playing a 4-4-2 diamond, and at this moment I feel we have to protect the wing.”
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