The technical staff guiding Russia’s national football team, led by Valery Karpin, has announced the final roster for the team’s friendly matches at the end of March.
Russia will face Serbia on March 21 and Paraguay on March 25. Both games are set to take place at the Lev Yashin VTB Arena in Moscow. The squad named for the camp features 28 players in total.
Goalkeepers: Matvey Safonov (Krasnodar), Andrey Lunev (Karabakh), Alexander Maksimenko (Spartak).
Defenders: Sergey Volkov (Krasnodar), Arsen Adamov (Orenburg), Daniil Khlusevich (Spartak), Igor Diveev (CSKA), Maxim Osipenko (Rostov), Alexander Silyanov, Evgeny Morozov (both Lokomotiv), Evgeny Kharin (Akhmat), Yuri Gorshkov (Wings of the Soviets).
Midfielders: Daler Kuzyaev (Le Havre), Dmitry Barinov, Anton Miranchuk, Sergey Pinyayev (all Lokomotiv), Danil Glebov (Rostov), Alexander Chernikov (Krasnodar), Danil Prutsev, Anton Zinkovsky (both Spartak), Ivan Oblyakov (CSKA), Alexander Golovin (Monaco), Andrey Mostovoy (Zenit), Alexey Miranchuk (Atalanta), Arsen Zakharyan (Real Sociedad).
Forwards: Fedor Chalov (CSKA), Ivan Sergeev (Zenit), Konstantin Tyukavin (Dynamo).
The final call-up excludes ten players who had been listed in the expanded squad previously: Lokomotiv goalkeeper Ilya Lantratov, defenders Vyacheslav Karavaev (Zenit), Dmitry Chistyakov (Sochi), Alexander Soldatenkov (Krylia Sovetov) and Dmitry Skopintsev (Dynamo), Lokomotiv midfielders Maxim Glushenkov and Artem Karpukas, Krasnodar midfielder Nikita Krivtsov, Dynamo midfielder Daniil Fomin, and Spartak forward Alexander Sobolev.
important collection
The March training camp carries extra significance for the national team as it marks a return to higher level opponents after a period of limited international activity. Since Russia’s suspension from international competition in March 2022, Valery Karpin’s squad has mostly faced teams from Asia and Africa.
In late 2022, the team played Kyrgyzstan (2:1), Tajikistan (0:0) and Uzbekistan (0:0). In March of the following year, matches were held against Iran (1:1) and Iraq (2:0).
In September 2023, the squad met the Egyptian Olympic team (U-23) twice, drawing once and losing once while acting in a youth capacity. A 1:1 draw with Qatar followed, and in October a high profile game against Cameroon was won by a single goal from Fedor Chalov in the 40th minute, during a period of suspension.
By the end of the previous year, there was a 2:2 draw with Kenya at a Turkish hotel stadium and an 8:0 win over Cuba in Volgograd. An anecdote from that Volgograd encounter mentions an adjustment to equipment after unsuitable footwear for the grass surface.
Serbia and Paraguay represent opponents of a noticeably different caliber, reflecting the strength of European programs and the longstanding football tradition of South American teams with strong showings in world championships.
RPL rivals
The Serbian squad traveling to Moscow has its own roster confirmed. Serbia’s head coach Dragan Stojkovic called up a number of players from the Russian Premier League for the match against Russia, including Zenit’s Strahinja Erakovic, Milan Gajic and CSKA’s Sasa Zdelar. Spartak defender Srdjan Babic, listed in the extended squad, did not make the final cut.
Also on the roster are Sergei Milinkovic-Savic and Aleksandar Mitrovic (both Al-Hilal), Filip Kostic and Dusan Vlahovic (both Juventus), Luka Jovic (Milan), Dusan Tadic (Fenerbahce), Andrija Zivkovic (PAOK) and Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina). These players underline the depth and quality present in the generation of Serbian football talent facing the Russian side.