03-Jun-2021 11:00:09 | The Guardian
The World Cup quarter-finalists combine a flexible formation and direct approach under the combative Stanislav Cherchesov
This article is part of the Guardian’s Euro 2020 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 24 countries who qualified. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 11 June.
Russia reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup on home soil but it was clear afterwards the squad needed rebuilding. The goalkeeper and captain, Igor Akinfeev, veteran centre-back Sergei Ignashevich and winger Aleksandr Samedov were three of the players who stepped down.
Related: Aleksandr Sobolev: Russia’s Siberian striker who never gave up his dream