5 Things You Should Know About Russia Before Euro 2016

Did you know that Russia scored 21 goals in the Qualifiers? Or that they conceded just 5 goals in the entire tournament! “Sbornaya” as the side’s affectionately known by their fans have qualified for the 2016 edition of Euro’s as Runners up of Group G, comfortably securing their place with 20 points or 2 points above 3^rd place Sweden! Here are 5 things you should know about Russia before Euros 2016:

1) How Did They Qualify?

Russia secured their place in the finals with 6 wins and 2 Losses And Draws Each! They Lost To Austria in both fixtures and however, their striker Artyom Dzyuba managed to joint finish top scorer along with Zlatan Ibrahimovic! They also scored 21 goals and finished with the Second highest goal difference in the group.

2) Closest To Glory

Russia reached the Semi Finals of the Euro 2008 edition! Having qualified as runners up of Group E! Placed in group D of the finals, the Russian side won 2 games and lost 1 game to Spain. They defeated Netherlands in extra time of quarter finals, scoring 2 goals in extra time. In the semi finals they again faced Spain, a side to whom they have lost 4 – 1 in their previous match. Russia did well to hold off Spain till the first half but the side that was

- Russia’s Euro 2008 squad

3) Road To Qualifiers

Russia began their campaign with a convincing win over Liechtenstein however they drew two matches, lost two matches and won just one match. The Russian side then turned things around by registering 4 back to back wins beginning with a 1 – 0 win against Sweden. Their Match against Montenegro was abandoned and Russia was awarded a 3 – 0 win against the side due to crowd violence. Their Goalkeeper Igor Ainfeev was hit by a flair in the first minute of the match, causing a 33 minute delay post which an incident in the 67^th in which Dmitri Kombarov was hit by an object thrown by Montenegro supporters. It was this incident that proved to be the turning point for the Sbornaya!

4) Key Players To Look Out For:

Artyom Dzyuba (fwd), Igor Akinfeev (gk) will be key for Russia’s effort to progress to the next round. With Alan Dzagoev out of the Euro’s Denis Cheryshev will have to step up to help his side.

- Artyom Dzyuba And Igor Akinfeev

5) Chances To Qualify For The Next Round?

Good. Given their current form England and Wales will provide them with good competition however, the fixture against Slovakia should guarantee them 3 points! Their Fixture against England will be a difficult and a tricky one!