Goal.com

Russia were favourites to progress from Group A but were left frustrated by Greece and disheartened by UEFA's head-to-head rule. Goal.com analyses..

SPECIAL
By Brendon Netto

RUSSIA

Expectation :

Russia were considered one of the stronger teams in Group A. Dzagoev, Kerzhakov and Arshavin formed a threatening attacking trio and were expected to shine at the Euros. The Russians had plenty of attacking options on the bench as well with Pavlyuchenko and Pogrebnyak waiting for an opportunity. The quarter-finals seemed a necessary target considering the quality they had at their disposal.


Result :

The Russians started with a scintillating peformance against the Czechs in their opening game where they put four goals past Petr Cech. People started to believe that they would emulate their run during Euro 2008 when they reached the semi-finals. After drawing 1-1 against Poland, they were favourites to progress since they only needed a point against the technically inferior Greeks. However, Greece put on an inspirational performance and frustrated Russia who were unable to score from a mammoth 31 attempts at goal. Karagounis conjured up a goal for Greece out of nothing and they went on to win 1-0, a true example of a classic smash-and-grab. The Russians were eliminated on the head-to-head rule in favour of Greece inspite of boasting a superior goal difference.

The Coach :

The pressure was always going to be on when you attempt to follow a class act like Guus Hiddink. Dick Advocaat surprisingly bemoaned his side's display in their first game despite the 4-1 scoreline in their favour. In hindsight, he probably wouldn't have if he knew that was as good as it would get. Although his side put up some good attacking displays, they lacked the cutting edge to win games. The manager must take the blame for Russia's inability to change their tactics when plan A wasn't working for them. Their attack-at-all-costs instincts left them vulnerable at the back and Greece were able to exploit that weakness. Advocaat decided to blame his players saying, "a number of players didn't have the sharpness to score". His commitment to Russia's cause could be questioned having already agreed to join PSV prior to the tournament.

Where it went wrong :

Russia attacked swiftly and frequently but their inability to find an end product in their second and final games let them down. They created chance after chance against Greece but were too wasteful when they needed to be a little more composed. Alexander Kerzhakov disappointed while Arshavin was inconsistent and went missing for long periods during their games.

Top Player of the Tournament Alan Dzagoev

Flop Player of the Tournament Alexander Kerzhakov

"Whose expectations were these -- yours or ours? If we did not fulfil your expectations, then honestly, these are your problems " - Russia captain, Andrey Arshavin (After elimination)

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