Russia hopes that Alan Dzagoev will be ready for the knock out matches.
Dzagoev will not take part in the final Group A match against Uruguay after limping off midway through the first half as Russia took on Saudi Arabia. Russia won the second match but the playmaker’s presence was felt as the hosts struggled especially in midfield.
The final clash will decide who tops the group and Dzagoev has not been ruled out entirely from the finals. Stanislav Cherchesov openly admitted that they were hurt to lose their most important player.
“It is clear we were not happy having lost such a creative player as Alan but naturally when we’re getting ready for a tournament we have to think about all the options. Injuries happen, yesterday he trained on the pitch, we’ll not risk him, we’ll observe him and not force him, each man is doing his business.” Cherchesov said.
“We’re not taking him with us on purpose, so his preparation will be done in full swing. We didn’t take him to St Petersburg and we’ve not brought him to Samara,” he added.
The coach elaborated the hard decisions he has to make always as he decides who to start or who to drop.
“He’s played for 15 minutes and he got a yellow and I don’t need this for the next game and as he’s stated there are 23 players and each of them must be ready to help the team,” Cherchesov said.
“Each man can be in a situation when you have to clench your teeth and prove something. The team is a mechanism and everyone has to be a part and we have to create comfortable conditions for every player to demonstrate his best abilities. If that can provide us with a good result we will do it.”
“If we have two pure forwards maybe it’s not the best idea [to start both] because there’ll be no subs for the forwards. If there’s no third forward then we’ll not take any arithmetic decisions because they’d be wrong,” he concluded.
Russia surprised many after winning both of their first matches and booking their slot in the round of 16.