Russia vs New Zeeland: Preview & Prediction
Russia and New Zealand will open this Saturday, June 17, the tenth edition of the Confederations Cup. At the Krestovsky Stadium in St. Petersburg, the match, valid for group A, which also has Mexico and Portugal, begins at 12 noon (Brasília time).
The tournament, which brings together the champions of the six confederations linked to Fifa (International Football Federation), the holder of the world title and the host country of the next World Cup takes place one year years of the World Cup.
Russia
For the Russians, it’s a great opportunity to test their players at a competitive pace. For being seat and guaranteed in the 2018 World Cup, the selection does not participate in the qualifiers. Thus, it is limited to making friendly matches that are often not very productive in the formation of a team.
This was shown at the last opportunity that Russia had to see its forces really measured. He managed to qualify for Euro 2016 in France, but fell in the first stage without having achieved a victory. He was in last in group B that still had the selections of Wales, England and Slovakia.
The shock of reality caused coach Stanislav Cherchesov to start a major overhaul after the second consecutive failure. By 2014, at the World Cup in Brazil, the Russians also had not made a good impression.
One of his goals was to control the misunderstandings between Russian-born players and the athletes who were naturalized to try to give more strength to the team. The latter ended up losing space.
In preparation for the Confederations Cup, he called 30 athletes and made two friendlies before setting the final list. He defeated Hungary away from home 3-0. Then they received Chile, who will also play in the Confederations Cup and are in Group B, which also includes Germany, Cameroon and Australia. The score was then 1 – 1.
Following the remarks, Cherchesov listed the following players for the tournament:
Goalkeepers Igor Akinfeev, Vladimir Gabulov and Guilherme;
Defenders: Igor Smolnikov, Roman Shishkin, Viktor Vasin, Georgy Dzhikya, Fedor Kudriashov, Ilya Kutepov and Dmitry Kombarov;
Socks: Iury Gazinsky, Denis Glushakov, Rusian Kambolov, Alexey Miranchuk, Aleksandr Golovin, Yury Zhirkov, Alexander Samedov, Aleksandr Erokhin and Dmitry Tarasov;
Attackers: Dmitry Poloz, Fedor Smolov, Aleksandr Bukharov and Maksim Kanunnikov.
New Zealand
New Zealand ‘inherited’ Oceania. With the departure of Australia, the region’s greatest strength, for the Asian qualifiers, the New Zealanders became the great team in the region. This, in practice, means the almost guaranteed qualification for the Confederations Cup.
In relation to the World Cup, however, the situation is quite different. The team can even win the local qualifiers. However, being a continent where football is very fragile, this does not guarantee a direct place in the World Cup. Thus, it is necessary to dispute the recap that almost invariably ends in failure.
The story repeats itself in the fight for a place in Russia 2018. The New Zealanders have already debuted in the second round and won their group with ease. They won all three of their games (against Solomon Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu) with nine goals and only one. In the next phase, they once again ended unbeaten. It was three wins and a draw. Now, New Zealand will play against the Solomon Islands the place in the recap.
He had no greater problems securing his place in the playoffs. Thus, the Confederations Cup becomes an opportunity to compete with top-level teams and prepare for the repechage, scheduled for the end of 2017. In preparation for the tournament, the team made two friendlies and lost both by 1 to 0 For Northern Ireland and Belarus.
The British coach Anthony Hudson called for the dispute:
Goalkeepers: Stefan Marinovic, Glen Moss and Tamati Williams;
Defenders: Sam Brotherton, Deklan Wynne, Themi Tzimopoulos, Michael Boxall, Dane Ingham, Thomas Doyle, Kip Colvey, Tommy Smith, Storm Roux and Andrew Durante;
Socks: Bill Tuiloma, Michael McGlingchey, Ryan Thomas and Clayton Lewis;
Attackers: Kosta Barbarouses, Chris Wood, Shane Smeltz, Marco Rojas, Monty Patterson, Alex Rufer,
History of the matches Russia vs New Zealand
This will be the first match between the selections. The teams, however, faced each other at the time Russia topped the Soviet Union in the 1982 World Cup. The Soviets won 3-0.
Russia vs New Zeeland: Direct Matches
Russia vs New Zeeland: Betting Tips
Rusia -1.5 AH – Odds: 2.00
Over 2,5 goals – Odds: 1.90
