The Russian youth players (players aged 21 and under) showed up at the October training camp with a lot of energy; organizing friendly matches keeps them motivated in the absence of international tournaments. This opinion was expressed by the striker of the Russian youth team Denis Bokov.
The Russian youth team played a friendly match against the Belarusian team on Friday as part of the October training camp. The match ended with the score 2:0 in favor of the Belarusians. On 13 October the teams will play a replay in Minsk.
“It was clear from the training process that everyone was ready, everyone was fired up,” Bokov said. — It’s always useful for the national team to play against guys who are somewhat different. In this regard, past rivals were interesting. Let’s say that the Colombians themselves (in March the Russians played two friendly matches with the Colombian national team, the matches ended with scores of 0:1 and 2:2 – approximately), have a different mentality. And in general, it’s interesting how they see football, what kind of understanding they have. We are similar to Belarusians [по менталитету]sure, but with them it’s just as interesting.”
“It is clear that everyone wants official international matches. But the fact that such friendly matches are held, I think it is already positive. However, it motivates and helps to stay in good shape,” added the player.
In February 2022, the Union of European Football Associations and the International Football Federation suspended Russian clubs and national teams from participating in international tournaments.
