“It’s difficult to say now how motivated the Cameroon team is”

The Russian national football team has lost one of the strongest players on its roster. Monaco midfielder Alexander Golovin was injured and will not be able to play either on October 12 against Cameroon or on October 16 against the Kenyan national team. Our team coach Valery Karpin told the press about this after training at the Dynamo stadium, where the team worked before the friendly match. For details, see Kommersant FM sports commentator Vladimir Osipov.

The Russian national team players came out onto the lawn of the Dynamo stadium with smiles. Photographers were actively clicking their shutters to capture our players in such a great mood for their publications and, of course, for history. But the coaching staff had no time for smiles. Of course, Valery Karpin will probably find someone to replace Alexander Golovin, but losing such a player before a match with the strongest opponents in recent times, and even at a home match, is undoubtedly a shame. But, despite the loss, the head coach of the national team cautiously, but still spoke about positive emotions:

“The status of an opponent is obligatory, and also the fact that we are playing in Moscow after such a long pause. I hope that the stadium will be full, we need support. I think this match will be interesting for everyone. Naturally, we hope for positive emotions.”

Many people are waiting for them. About 20 thousand tickets have already been sold. According to the official website of the RFU, through which tickets can be purchased, tickets for the best seats are no longer freely available. They were sold for 2 thousand rubles. There are places left for 1.6 thousand rubles. on corner sectors, but there are fewer and fewer of them. The most difficult part is the gallery. Although the price here is very attractive – from 400 rubles. up to 900 rub.

Yes, the main stars from Napoli and Bayern did not come to Moscow, but Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana is there. True, in the last matches for the club Onana made rude mistakes, to put it mildly, but this did not make him a less stellar goalkeeper, our team’s goalkeeper coach Vitaly Kafanov is sure:

“Onana has already proven that he is a high-level goalkeeper and has also confirmed this in many games. I would really like him to play. It’s very interesting to see Andre Onana on the field.”

It’s difficult to say now how motivated the entire Cameroon team is. But one player of this team – Gael Ondua – who has a Russian passport, will definitely be fully charged. He himself spoke about this after his team trained at the VTB Arena:

“I’m proud to play against the Russian national team. If I get on the field, it will be cool for me.”

Motivation for the players of the team with which our players will play on October 12 is an important nuance. Coach Valery Nepomnyashchy, who worked with the Cameroon national team for several years, is absolutely sure of this:

“It all depends on how mobilized and motivated they are, because Cameroon players need a challenge, they enjoy playing, they enjoy the process. I have doubts that our team would be able to beat such a team.”

But, despite Nepomniachtchi’s expert opinion, bookmakers still consider the Russians to be favorites. Moreover, after it became known that Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting and Andre Zambo-Anguissa did not arrive in Moscow, the odds for our guys to win became significantly lower.

This is understandable. Still, in front of their fans in Moscow, where the national team has not played for more than two years, the Russians must be seriously motivated. So we are waiting for the meeting to start at 19:00 and broadcast on the federal sports channel “Match TV”. But here it’s better to be more careful with your expectations, otherwise we’ve all learned by heart whose problems these are.

---

Everything is clear with us – Telegram channel “Kommersant FM”.