ZCZC
BSP-08
FOOTBALL-WC-RUSSIA-CHIEF
Team Russia chief coach promises to try to achieve better result
MOSCOW, July 9, 2018, (BSS/TASS)- Russia’s national football team will achieve a better result at the next FIFA World Cup in 2022 in Qatar, the team’s chief coach, Stanislav Cherchesov pledged on Sunday.
Team Russia coached by Stanislav Cherchesov lost to Croatia in the quarter-final match at the Fisht Olympic Stadium in Sochi on Saturday night. The regular and the 30-minute overtime periods ended in a 2-2 draw. The Croats won in a 4-3 penalty shootout.
In its previous Last 16 match, Russia beat Spain 4-3 on penalties. Team Russia advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in its modern history.
“We are filled with emotions now. No analysis has been done,” he told football fans. “We are glad to see you. We were together. You were the 12th, 13th, 15th and 16th player.”
“We wanted to go further but, regrettably, we could not do that. In four years in Qatar, we will do it better. But it will be more difficult for us there without you, so, please go there,” he said.
“Dear friends. I want to say two phrases: we are happy to have you by our side. We played for you, with all our hearts and souls. These guys have made history,” said Igor Akinfeev, the team’s captain and goalkeeper.
Russia is holding its first-ever FIFA World Cup, which kicked off in Moscow with a spectacular opening show at the Luzhniki Stadium on the night of June 14.
Eleven host cities, namely Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara, were selected to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup.
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