Football festival has arrived in Russia - tonight marks the start of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. Eight teams, divided into two groups of four, will begin their journey towards the tournament title.
Today in St. Petersburg, the hosts will kick off the tournament - at 18:00 Lithuanian time, the Russian national team, supported by their fans, will face New Zealand. The visitors are considered the underdogs of this tournament, so for the Russians, this is a great opportunity to start the FIFA Confederations Cup with a victory.
Russia - New Zealand Tournament: FIFA Confederations Cup (Group A) Stadium: "Krestovsky" (St. Petersburg) Referee: Wilmar Roldan (Colombian) Date and time: 2017-06-17, 18:00 on LRT
The Russian national team secured their place in the FIFA Confederations Cup without winning anything - in this tournament, the Russians will participate as hosts. Meanwhile, New Zealand became the champion of Oceania and will defend the honor of their continent.
Managed by Stanislav Cherchesov, the Russian national team will compete in the FIFA Confederations Cup for the first time. On the other hand, their future opponents, the New Zealand footballers (some of them - ed. note), know the taste of this tournament - throughout history, New Zealand has participated in the Confederations Cup three times: in 1999, 2003, and 2009.
The Russian national team has an uniqueness in this tournament - the team consists solely of players who play in domestic championships. Playing within their own borders, the Russian footballers understand the expectations of the fans and do not want to experience the shame they faced in the European Championship last summer.
However, it will not be easy for the Russians to secure a spot in the next stage - in Group A, they will compete against the teams from Portugal and Mexico. These teams are considered favorites to clinch the top two spots and continue the fight for the title.
As indicated by football experts from Russia, the national team understands that they are favorites in the first match against New Zealand, but experts doubt the coach's selection - many young players should take to the field at once. This is seen as one of the reasons why the Russian national team may struggle in these matches.
The situation is different for the New Zealand national team, where they do not feel the pressure - they have come to the tournament to compete against any team, and even if they lose, they will not be criticized by their fans or the country's media.
Prior to the upcoming match, head coach of the Russian national team S. Cherchesov expressed his joy that there are no injured players in the team and everyone is ready for the start of the tournament: "The good news is that all team players are healthy and ready for the matches. This is the most important thing, because when there are doubts, they usually mean failure. We await a great start to the tournament and a fierce battle."
Meanwhile, Anthony Hudson, the coach of the New Zealand national team, stated that they are not afraid of the hosts and will strive for victory: "We came here to win every match we play. We will try to beat Russia, and whether we succeed will be shown in time. We understand that they are a strong team, but we are certainly not afraid of them."
Predicted starting line-ups:
Russia: Igor Akinfeev; Georgy Dzhikya, Viktor Vasin, Fedor Kudryashov; Aleksandr Samedov, Denis Glushakov, Aleksandr Erokhin, Dmitry Kombarov; Alexey Miranchuk, Fedor Smolov, Aleksandr Golovin.
New Zealand: Stefan Marinovic; Tom Doyle, Andrew Durante, Tommy Smith, Michael Boxall, Kip Colvey; Ryan Thomas, Bill Tuiloma, Michael McGlinchey; Chris Wood, Marco Rojas.
"EuroFootball.com" prediction: At the start of the tournament, we wanted to see a clash of stronger opponents, but these are quite evenly-matched teams, so a fierce battle awaits. There is no doubt that the Russian footballers are the favorites, but given this team's preparation for the major tournaments, it is hard to expect New Zealand to be easily defeated. Challenging matches await both teams, but the Russians should ultimately gift their fans with a victory - they will triumph over their opponents with a score of 2:1.
