Euro 2012: Russia name final squad
CSKA Moscow defender Kirill Nababkin was picked for the first time while Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Magomed Ozdoyev and Spartak Moscow striker Artem Dzyuba were dropped for Russia's final squad for the European Championship on Friday.
CSKA Moscow defender Kirill Nababkin was picked for the first time while Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Magomed Ozdoyev and Spartak Moscow striker Artem Dzyuba were dropped for Russia's final squad for the European Championship on Friday.
The 23-man squad was announced by coach Dick Advocaat for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine after Russia held Uruguay to a 1-1 draw in its first of three warmups.
"The reason I've called up one more defender is that if something happens to (Alexander) Anyukov we will have a backup on the right position in defense," Advocaat said.
He added that the 25-year-old Nababkin has been practicing with the team for several days.
This week, CSKA Moscow defender Vasiliy Berezutskiy left the team when it became clear that he had not recovered from a muscle strain in the right leg, and Lokomotiv Moscow defender Roman Shishkin was forced to end his preparation for the event because of a stomach illness.
Russia will move its preparations to Switzerland where it is scheduled to play two more friendlies against Latvia and Italy on May 29 and June 1 respectively.
Russia will face Greece, Czech Republic and Poland in Group A, starting from June 8.
Russia:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St. Petersburg), Anton Shunin (Dinamo Moscow).
Defenders: Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Alexei Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Dinamo Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (Anzhi), Roman Sharonov (Rubin Kazan), Kirill Nababkin (CSKA Moscow).
Midfielders: Igor Denisov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dinamo Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow).
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St.Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart), Alan Dzagoyev (CSKA Moscow), Marat Izmailov, (Sporting), Alexander Kokorin (Dinamo Moscow).