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Russia on the right track but must improve defensively, argues Advocaat
Jun 4, 2012 8:20:00 PM
The Dutchman is of the opinion his troops need to tighten up at the back, but is confident that they will kick off their European Championship campaign on a high
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RUSSIA
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GROUP A
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Russia boss Dick Advocaat insists his side still have plenty of work to do from a defensive perspective, despite taking great encouragement from their resounding 3-0 friendly win over Italy last week.
The Russians sounded out a warning to maiden opponents Czech Republic with a comprehensive defeat of the Azzurri in Zurich, with Aleksandr Kerzhakov opening the scoring on the hour mark before Roman Shirokov netted a late double.
The manner of the victory has led many pundits to install as Advocaat's troops as dark horses for Euro 2012, but the Dutchman is ignoring the pre-tournament hype surrounding his team ahead of their Group A opener.
"The result against the Italians gives us great confidence," the former Netherlands coach told Sky Sports. "These friendlies are very important.
"That game [against Italy] showed that we are on the right track. But I also think we have to be a lot better defensively."
Advocaat then revealed that he now knows his starting lineup for Friday's curtain raiser with the Czechs in Wroclaw, but added he will not disclose it until shortly prior to kick-off.
"We still have a few days to go and anything can still happen," he reasoned. "Of course, I have prepared the side in my head for the most part, but I will not be saying about about it."
Russia's clash with Czech Republic is scheduled to get under way at 20:45CET.
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