R uslan Litvinov, Anton Zinkovskbq (both from Spartak Moscow) and Daniil Utkin (Rostov, Rostov-on-Don) will join their clubs and will be unavailable for the forthcoming match between the Russia national team and Cuba. This information came from the official site of the Russian Football Union (RFU).
According to the RFU, the heavy workload on the coaching and medical teams of the Russia squad led to a decision, at the Spartak medical staff’s request, to send Litvinov and Zinkovsky to their club to allow for full recovery and proper preparation for club fixtures. Regarding Utkin, the Rostov midfielder is currently affected by ARVI and will not be able to contribute to the Russian side in the game against Cuba.
The Russia and Cuba national teams are scheduled to meet in Volgograd on November 20, with kickoff at 19:30 Moscow time.
This match would mark the national team’s fifth friendly of 2023.
In spring 2022, FIFA and UEFA announced the suspension of Russia’s participation in all competitions overseen by those bodies. Since that decision, Russian clubs and the national team have played only friendly matches.
Earlier, the Russian national team was described in the media as “a toy in Karpin’s hands.”