Igor Akinfeev / Photo: © RIA Novosti/Alexey Filippov
CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev answered the question of the goalkeeper of the Russian women’s team Yulia Grichenko about the secrets of the reflection of the penalty.
Akinfeev separately recalled the emotions when repelling a penalty from the Spaniard Iago Aspas in the 1/8 finals of the 2018 World Cup in the post-match series, when the Russian team reached the quarterfinals.
– Do you have any secrets when repelling a penalty kick and what did you feel before that very legendary kick?
No, of course there are no secrets. I always say that everything happens by chance. You have some skills, you have, as I did, some kind of intuition. Of the five penalties, figuratively, in the season, I already stand and understand where the goal will be. That is, this inexplicable feeling. But I understand that I can’t do anything 100%. I guess or I don’t. There is something inside. And there is such a thing that they give you a penalty, you get up and understand that there will be no goal, and I am 100% confident in my abilities. Maybe someone will break through.
As for the penalty at the World Cup, I have said many times that it was just a tangle of accidents that happened. When we looked with Gintaras before the game, who hit where, Aspas hit all the time in this direction. I jumped there, he hit the center. And plus, when viewed from behind the gate, he hit a little closer to my leg. Randomness, non-randomness. The leg remained, hit. Everyone, we moved on. It’s not like I’m some kind of superhero here, I did everything, deceived, swung here, jumped there, put my foot out … It’s all by accident!
– Did you think at that moment that this was a decisive penalty?
– I understood that even if they scored, there would still be one hit each. Now, if you have to repel a blow and there is no other way, then here the nerves will behave differently. And then – initially did not even understand where he hit the ball. I realized only that he hit the leg. Even on the replay you can see that I looked where the ball went. Look – he flew to the stands. And then already – devastation, joy, – Akinfeev said in an interview presented on the Youtube channel of the Russian national team.
36-year-old Akinfeev has been playing for CSKA since the beginning of his career, he is the bronze medalist of the 2008 European Championship as part of the Russian team, and also a quarter-finalist of the 2018 World Cup.
Source: Sportbox
I am a sports writer and journalist who has written for various online publications including Sportish. I’m originally from the UK but currently live in Toronto, Canada. I’m also an author on Sportish and have written several articles on a variety of sports-related topics.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos He talked about his interaction with Brazilian striker Vinicius Junior and other representatives of Brazil within the scope of the “royal club”.
“The Brazilians aroused my sympathy even as a child. While playing for Real Madrid, I developed excellent relationships with Vinicius, Casemiro and Militao.
It is very easy to find a common language with these guys: they know how to enjoy life, and their mentality is significantly different from that of the Germans.
Casemiro and Vinicius and I understood each other perfectly on the field and developed a unique football bond with Vini.
We communicated warmly in daily life. I believe that if there is no contact between players off the field, it is extremely difficult to achieve harmony in the game.
I used Vini’s high-speed bursts effectively and he masterfully directed my passes,” AS Kroos reports.
Let’s remember that Kroos defended the jersey of Real Madrid from 2014 to 2024. During this decade the German midfielder won the Champions League five times.
Source: Sport UA
I am a writer at Sportish, where I mainly cover sports news. I’ve also written for The Guardian and ESPN Brasil, and my work has been featured on NBC Sports, SI.com and more. Before working in journalism, I was an athlete: I played football for Colgate University and competed in the US Open Cross Country Championships.
Atalanta and Inter met in the Italian Serie A match. The match ended with the score 0:1.
Marked for guests Martinez (65′).
At the end of the match Atalanta has 22 points, the guests have 36 points.
Atalanta’s next match will be on January 3, 2026 against Roma. Inter will play their next match on 4 January 2026 (the opponent is Bologna).
Source: Soccer Ru
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.
The Moscow football club “Spartak” gave permission Theo Bongonde leave the team for free during the winter transfer window. The journalist reported this on his page on the social network Sasha Tavolieri.
The player’s contract with Spartak expires in the summer of 2027.
It should be noted that several foreign clubs are interested in the player and have already sent requests for a free transfer.
Bongonda is 30 years old, joined Spartak in 2023 and played 74 official matches for the club, in which he scored 16 goals and provided 6 assists. The midfielder also played for the Spanish Cadiz and Celta, the Turkish Trabzonspor, the Belgians Genk and Zulte Waregem. As part of Genk in the 2020/21 season, Bongonda became the silver medalist of the Belgian championship and the winner of the national cup.
For the national team of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bongonda played 34 matches, in which he scored 7 goals and provided 1 assist.
Source: Soccer Ru
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.
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