Russia defender Vladimir Granat admits team knows very little about opening-day opponents Saudi Arabia

MOSCOW: Russia’s World Cup infrastructure might have been completed well in advance, but the country’s national football team is leaving it late with their preparations ahead of Thursday’s opening match against Saudi Arabia.
Just three days out from the tournament curtain-raiser at the Luzhniki Stadium, Vladimir Granat revealed that, while he has watched the Gulf side’s most recent matches against the likes of Peru and Germany, the squad is yet to receive any analysis or guidance on the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses from manager Stanislav Cherchesov.
“The coach is still analizing their pros and cons and looking at their technical play,” Granat said. “The detailed analysis of our opponents is still ahead. We’ve watched their recent matches. There are no weak teams at the World Cup. We’re still fine-tuning and gaining our top form. Hopefully we’ll reach that for the opening match.”
While Saudi Arabia have shown signs of improvement in recent months, Russia have not won any of their previous seven international matches and slipped to 70th in FIFA’s most recent world rankings. They are now the lowest-ranked team at the tournament, below their Group A opponents, who are in 67th position. With Russia (in its post USSR incarnation) having never made it to the World Cup knockout stages, expectations are not high in the country, but national pride and a seemingly favorable group that also includes Egypt and Uruguay means the pressure on Cherchesov and his team is huge.
Training at a secluded football center on the outskirts of Moscow and away from the growing media circus that is starting to engulf the Russian metropolis, the hosts are disconnecting both physically and virtually. Granat has canceled all his social media networks and is avoiding reading articles about his team.
“I’m hopeful the general opinion in the country about the team is positive,” said the Rubin Kazan defender, who refused to answer when asked if he could promise Russian fans the team would perform well at the tournament. “It’s a big holiday for the Russian people and I hope everyone enjoys the tournament.”
Russia’s Brazil-born defender, Mário Fernandes, echoed his teammate’s words, adding the analysis of the Saudi Arabia team will likely take place in the next day or two. He insisted, however, that all the focus is simply on being ready.
“Every game is decisive and difficult, but we have to think about only the next game, against Saudi,” he said.
“The coach will show us a video of the good and bad parts of their team and explain to us how we can use their weaknesses to our advantage. “We are putting all our focus on that match and will arrive with the best possible preparation. We can’t look too far forward. We are training a lot to ensure so we are lacking nothing when we face Saudi and can play a great game, because we know it is very important.”

Russia defender Vladimir Granat admits team knows very little about opening-day opponents Saudi Arabia