Russia is built from the back. Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev, the Berezutski twins (Vasili and Aleksei) and Sergei Ignashevich (Russia’s all-time leader in caps) are all experienced campaigners, and they led a Russian defense that let in just five goals during qualifying.
They have more than enough weapons up front as well. They have three exciting young attacking midfielders (Aleksandr Kokorin, Alan Dzagoev and Oleg Shatov) who are all hitting their prime, while striker Artyom Dzyuba (a +5,000 long shot to be the tournament’s top scorer) was the fourth-leading scorer during qualifying with eight goals.
The Russians are expected to be the top challengers to England for Group B supremacy, and are priced at +300 to top the group.
Team Weaknesses:
Despite Russia’s impressive defensive record during qualifying, six of those 10 matches were against much weaker nations like Liechtenstein, Moldova and Montenegro. The Berezutski twins are now 33 and Ignashevich is 36, making the Russian central defensive partnership very susceptible to any team that possesses speed up front.
Russia have almost identical odds to finish bottom of Group B (+350) as they do to top it.
Team Stats (During Euro Qualifiers):
Category
Stat
Goals Scored Per Game
1.8
Goals Conceded Per Game
0.5
Goal Attempts Per Game
16.7
Pass Completion Percentage
88%
Ball Possession Percentage
59%
Starting Lineup:
Position
Name (Age)
Career Caps
Goals
Goalie
Igor Akinfeev (30)
57
0
Defender
Igor Smolnikov (27)
12
0
Defender
Sergei Ignashevich (36)
115
8
Defender
Vasili Berezutski (33)
93
4
Defender
Dmitri Kombarov (29)
38
2
Midfielder
Roman Shirokov (34)
53
13
Midfielder
Denis Glushakov (29)
42
4
Midfielder
Oleg Shatov (25)
21
2
Midfielder
Alan Dzagoev (25)
49
9
Midfielder
Aleksandr Kokorin (25)
37
11
Forward
Artyom Dzyuba (27)
16
8
Writer’s Prediction
Russia finish runners-up to England in Group B, but crash out in the round of 16.
