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Russia's Andrey Arshavin: There is pressure on us to qualify from Group A in Euro 2012
The Arsenal man is urging caution after his side's favourable draw for Poland and Ukraine, while Zenit's Roman Shirokov has expressed his delight at avoiding Europe's big guns
2 Dec 2011 20:33:00
By Enis Koylu
Russia captain Andrey Arshavin has warned his side that there will be pressure and heightened expectations on his team to progress from the Euro 2012 group stage.
The Euro 2008 semi-finalists were drawn alongside co-hosts Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic, and the Arsenal man acknowledges that his nation will be expected to qualify for the latter stages.
"All will expect the Russian team to get out of the group, which will undoubtedly put pressure on the team," the 30-year-old said according to Sport-express.ru
Arshavin was also wary of Russia's possible opponents in the knockout phase. If Dick Advocaat's team qualify from the group, they could potentially come up against the likes of Portugal, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
"Another minus is that those who qualify from the group will go on to face a team from Group B, which, no doubt will be called the 'Group of Death'.
"I'll tell you that even the Danes aren't whipping boys - they may get into the latter stages."
Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Roman Shirokov was more optimistic about Russia's chances.
"Compared to a team like Portugal, I'm very happy with the draw," he beamed.
Russia will start their Euro 2012 campaign against the Czech Republic.
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The Euro 2008 semi-finalists were drawn alongside co-hosts Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic, and the Arsenal man acknowledges that his nation will be expected to qualify for the latter stages.
"All will expect the Russian team to get out of the group, which will undoubtedly put pressure on the team," the 30-year-old said according to Sport-express.ru
Arshavin was also wary of Russia's possible opponents in the knockout phase. If Dick Advocaat's team qualify from the group, they could potentially come up against the likes of Portugal, Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands.
"Another minus is that those who qualify from the group will go on to face a team from Group B, which, no doubt will be called the 'Group of Death'.
"I'll tell you that even the Danes aren't whipping boys - they may get into the latter stages."
Zenit St Petersburg midfielder Roman Shirokov was more optimistic about Russia's chances.
"Compared to a team like Portugal, I'm very happy with the draw," he beamed.
Russia will start their Euro 2012 campaign against the Czech Republic.
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| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
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| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
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21:50 BST -
And here are some quotes from today's goalscorer, Danny Welbeck: "It's still the same, me and Ashley [Young] playing together.
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
"We know each other's games and obviously we're training with each other day in and day out.
"So, it was really good to start up top with him."
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