Russian national football team / Photo: © Dmitry Chelyapin / Match TV
Former Rostov head coach Anatoly Baidachny called the Russian team the favorite for the friendly match with the Belarusian team.
On Thursday, the Russian Football Union announced that a friendly match between the national teams of Russia and Belarus will be held on June 7 in Minsk and will be taken into account in the FIFA rankings. The Russian national team has been suspended from participation in tournaments under the auspices of FIFA and UEFA due to the situation in Ukraine. For the same reason, official home matches of the Belarusian national team are held on neutral territory and without fans being allowed into the stands.
— Will this match arouse interest in Belarus?
– Without a doubt. Russia is a good team. Secondly, we haven’t played each other at the Dynamo stadium for a long time. The Belarusian national team now plays away all the time. I think there will be interest.
— Which players from the Russian national team are especially welcome in Belarus?
– Golovin, without a doubt. This is the only Russian football player who successfully plays at the international level. He is the best, let’s say so. But I think that’s not what they’re waiting for, but a good game and a friendly atmosphere.
— In your opinion, who is the favorite in this game?
— From the point of view of selecting players and everything else, of course, Russia is the favorite. But Belarus will play at home. And the one who is more motivated in a particular game can surpass a team that has a better composition.
— How would you assess the current level of the Belarusian national team?
— You see how the team plays qualifying games. She has not performed very successfully in recent years.
— The Georgian national team qualified for the European Championship. What prevents Belarus from achieving the same result?
— To be honest, I can’t understand. Somehow our football stars have disappeared lately. I remember my team, which I coached: Gleb, Belkevich, Khatskevich, Romashchenko, Kulchy… We lost 3:4 in Italy, but played on equal terms. The Italians later became world champions. When there is a selection of such players, you can build a game with them. When they are not there, it is very difficult. Basically we have to deal with defensive functions. It’s very difficult to be creative,” RB Sport quotes Baidachny.
In March, the Russian national team, led by Valery Karpin, beat the Serbian national team (4:0) in a friendly match in Moscow.
