MINSK, June 6, Sergey Fuks. Head coach of the Russian national team Valery Karpin said that his team does not consider itself a favorite in the game with the Belarusians, and only his own players can surprise him.
The friendly match between the national teams of Russia and Belarus will take place on June 7 in Minsk at the Dynamo stadium and will begin at 20:00 Moscow time. The game will be taken into account in the rankings of the International Football Federation (FIFA).
“»I think that we don’t feel like favorites tomorrow. Why should we be favorites? Do we have more Europeans? Not so many of them. Belarusians also have a lot of Europeans. On paper you can be stronger, but you have to show and prove everything on field. We have a lot of losses — Osipenko, Silyanov, Barinov, Golovin, Zakharyan, so others who could not prove themselves before will have a chance,” Karpin told reporters. “I say again that we are not the favorites tomorrow. Surprise me. maybe not an opponent, at this level it’s difficult to surprise me only my players, and from the negative side,” added the coach of the national team.