Just want to note the very mediocre game of the Russian team. First of all, this is due to a large number of debutants, difficult adaptation to the synthetic surface on the field in Dushanbe and the weak play of the middle line of our team, which did not turn out to be creative in attack at all.

Of the debutants, I can only mention Sergey Pinyaev, who over and over again tried to sharpen the game. With all this, the team did not create a single real scoring chance. And the Russian team could not use its advantage in possession of the ball. The Tajik team was very well-played, technical, defended without any fuss, and they had no fear of a more status opponent. And they showed themselves much stronger than the national team of Kyrgyzstan, which we met earlier.

In the second half, the Russian team added, but nevertheless again failed to fish out anything in the attack. As for Vladimir Sychevy’s canceled goal at the very end of the game, I don’t understand at all why Maxim Osipenko grabbed his opponent’s shirt at that very moment. Because of such an oversight, in fact, the player deprived the national team of victory. Although the team of Tajikistan deserved this draw.

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Can such a result be called a shame for our team? In this case, you need to look at the situation comprehensively. In this game, I think, we looked no better and no worse than in the last match against Kyrgyzstan (2:1) in September. Our team gathers much less often now, which is why there is no training at all. At the same time, it cannot be said that they did not try, there are no complaints about dedication. Yes, and in defense this time they played reliably, although there were debutants in this line as well.

When there is not enough teamwork of a certain composition with a large number of debutants and friendly matches in general, it is hard to expect an outstanding game from the national team. Plus, the subconsciously weak status of such a game has its effect, and after the loads in the championship and the last cup games, the functional players of the Russian national team approached the match with Tajikistan not in the best condition.

I would not call it a shame, the problems were expected in the current situation. Of course, the Russian team should play better, but it needs more time. So many beginners will not be able to show a high-level game. I did not expect anything special from our team, given the lack of any preparation.

For all objective and subjective reasons, this is the level of the Russian national team. Let’s look at the upcoming game with Uzbekistan. In the previous two matches, the Russian team showed mediocre football, and this is a fact.