Russian footballers lost to the French team in the selection match for the 2021 European Youth Championship. The meeting ended with a score of 0: 2 in favor of the opponents.
The match took place in the Hungarian city of Szombathely at the Haladash stadium. The French sent two goals to the Russians on penalties. In the second half, the Russian team achieved the creation of several dangerous moments, but failed to realize them, writes NSN. The reason for the penalty was a foul and a handball by Pavel Maslov.
The defeat of the Russian youth national football team in an interview with the Championship was commented by the head coach of the team Mikhail Galaktionov.
“We haven’t reviewed the moments from the penalty spot yet. In the first, there was probably a foul, in the second – whether the hand was set aside, whether it was purposeful – I don’t know. The judge made a decision, it is pointless to discuss it, ”he said.
The coach added that he had already talked with Maslov, and noted that he was very upset, although the team supported him. He also urged not to blame him for the defeat.
“The easiest thing for the media and fans is to throw everything at the young player. But we can psychologically kill him and bury him this way. On the contrary, it is necessary to support him in this situation so that he will try to avoid such mistakes further. They are not critical, but they turned out to be effective, ”Galaktionov noted.
He concluded that this is not his problem, since there is always a chain, which means that the whole team has not finished working, and all the players take the blame.
Also in an interview with the publication “Championship” the former captain of the Russian national football team Roman Shirokov commented on the defeat of the Russians. According to him, the defender of Maslov’s team should not be blamed for everything, since “they are to blame themselves.”
“Unfortunately for him, he finds himself in situations, as in Spartak, where his not entirely successful actions lead to goals,” RT quotes Shirokov.
He also noted that “the French are absolutely bad, they can’t do anything,” and despite the fact that “they may be stronger individually,” the Russian team should not have lost to them.
At the end of the match, the French team earned three points and climbed to the second line of the standings. Russia is also in third position with three points. Denmark leads with six points, Iceland closes the four with no points.
The matches of the third round will be held on March 31, the Russian national team will meet with the Danish team, the French – with the Icelanders.
On March 25, Russian footballers defeated the Icelandic national team in the first round match of the group stage of the European Youth Championship. The meeting, which took place in Gyor, Hungary, ended with a score of 4: 1 in favor of Mikhail Galaktionov’s charges.