Russia Beats Portugal 1-0 In World Cup 2014 Qualifier

By

The Russian team defeated the team of Portugal in a qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Football Championship. During the match only one goal was scored but that the minimum allowed the Russians to grab three points, and put them comfortably in the lead of group F as well as improving their chances of reaching the final stage of the championship.

The Russian National Football Team defeated the team of Portugal in the qualifying tournament for the 2014 World Football Championship. During the match only one goal was scored but it was enough for Russia to win the match gain three points putting the team in the lead in group F and improving their chances of reaching the final stage of the championship.

The goal was made during the 6th minute of the game when Alexander Kerzhakov went one on one with the goalkeeper, and beat him easily, beautifully sending the ball flying into the goal.

Portugal immediately woke up went on the offensive abandoning what had been a sloppy game and were so convincing that it seemed that the next goal would soon be scored by them.

The Portuguese attacked in vain as every attempt at the goal was handily blocked by Russian goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev.

The Russian team went on the defensive occasionally taking the ball away from the Portuguese team and counter attacking and there were a few moments when it looked like Kerzhakov might score again but it was never meant to be.

Denis Glushakov was also able to get through the Portuguese defense but could not follow though with his attacks and by the end of the match the score remained 1-0 in favor of the Russian team.

Statistics, however, was not on Russia’s side: the Portuguese frequently attacked the goal and had possession of the ball for longer periods than their Russian rivals. On the other hand, judging by the replacements, which were brought in by coach Fabio Capello, and the Russian team was set up to play a defensive game.

Don Fabio himself is to be congratulated on the continuation of a series of win-wins and the fact that he was able to find a common language with the Russian players. Overall, he was able to get them to play their own game.

One of the main sensations of the game was captain Igor Denisov. Nobody expected that the player from the St. Petersburg Zenith, who had been removed from the starting linbe-up because of a scandal surrounding his salary, would eventually receive the captain’s armband. But Capello once again demonstrated that he was there for one reason and that was to train the National Team and that the complex relationships within the club were not something that he would get a headache over.

As they always do players, fans and experts waited for sensational plays and at the same time hoped that they would not have problems with the referee of the game, the notorious Hungarian referee Viktor Kashshai.

At the last European Championship he nullified a goal made by the team of Ukraine in a match against the English.

During this match the referee did not notice anything that was out of line and did not feel the inclination to give a yellow card.

The Portuguese for their part demonstrated the small role personality plays in football. Christian Ronaldo was playing for the Portuguese National Team. The team captain scored a pair of strikes but overall played a very weak game. The ball was for the most part was controlled by Miguel Veloso and “Zenith” Bruno Alves who is used to playing on Russian fields.

The Russian Team has only one more test match to play this year and it will be held on Tuesday, October 16, when the Russians will play at home against the team of Azerbaijan.

VOR

VOR, or the Voice of Russia, was the Russian government's international radio broadcasting service from 1993 until 2014, when it was reorganised as Radio Sputnik.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *