On the eve of the match with the team of Wim van Zwam, Ravil Sabitov probably warned the wards with whom they would have to deal. After all, this is the same generation of “orange” that two years ago brilliantly performed at Euro U-17, only in the final stopping at the Turks led by Nuri Shahin.
Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul has been studying the mind at Newcastle for a couple of seasons, periodically replacing Shane Given. The defense center, consisting of Jordi Bays and Dirk Marcellis, is also not to be suspected of a lack of experience. The first at the finish of the current season has become an indispensable player in the Feyenoord of Rotterdam, and the second is preparing to inherit a position in the defense of PSV from the Brazilian Alex. The trinity of midfielders for the main 18-year-old Anita Vurnon, reputed to be one of the most talented offspring of the Ajax Academy in recent years. His former classmate in the Amsterdam talent conservatory Jordi Brower was recruited by Liverpool six months ago, and in this group tournament he scored both goals against the Czechs. 190 cm, even with 70 kg of weight - an enviable anthropometry for the center forward.
However, the more impossible the task looks, the easier it seems for our juniors to tune in to solve it. The paradoxical tradition entrenched in the junior Russian teams cannot but rejoice. Last year’s triumph of the Kolyvanov team has already become the property of the national epic. And the trick of Andrei Talalayev, 17-year-old wards, who nearly won 6 goals against Icelandic peers, is unlikely to have an analogue in football history.
Now it is no wonder that the team of Ravil Sabitov, who went to the match with the promoted Dutch juniors without the disqualified Pavel Mamaev, the main midfielder and charismatic leader of the team, was also cussing. However, the main psychological victory was won by Russian juniors on Tuesday, when the England team, the hostess of the competition, was beaten in the “death group”.
The first half hour of the Walsall debut match was predictably difficult for us. Only the nimble stout guy from Ipswich Danny Haines had some potential scoring chances, but goalkeeper Sergei Borodin from the Dimitrovgrad Wings of the Soviets-SOK, a forge for our junior teams, was reliable. As a result, the Russians not only survived, but also beat the British, who were habitually insolvent at the level of national teams. The most powerful blows of Mamaev and Spartak Artem Dziuba, which turned out to be irresistible to the English goalkeeper and Sheffield United, Jamie Ennerson, stated that the goalkeeper problem would be resolved on foggy Albion soon.
Strangely enough, the Thursday match with the Czechs turned out to be much more energy-consuming. Augustin Khroma’s team, losing in the first round to the Dutch, grabbed at their last chance and the entire first half frantically fought at least for a draw. However, at the beginning of the second half, CSKA's pupil Alexander Salugin, sent this season away from the capital’s temptations in Ivanovo, turned out to be the most resourceful in the booth, reigning in the Czech penalty, and struck Michal Tom.
In the subsequent substitution game, Ravil Sabitov turned out to be much more insightful. His Czech colleague released Tomas Necida, who actively bothered the Kolyvan team a year ago, and a couple of minutes later the Prague forward “Slavia” already realized a very mixed penalty. But Sabitov went further! Defender of the “Locomotive” Andrei Kuznetsov again led us forward, barely appearing on the field instead of the torpedo Smolnikov. And before the final whistle, the “Estonian” Nikita Andreev, who had an internship in CSKA in the winter, also distinguished himself. However, in addition to the goal, the forward of “Levadia” managed to get a “mustard plaster” in the allotted 8 minutes, excluding him from the number of participants in the decisive match with the Dutch.
For a match with the Van Zwam team, where we were quite happy with a draw, Sabitov sent Evgeny Balyaykin from Kazan to the midfield center, leveling Mamaev’s loss. The rest of the squad was familiar - the center of defense was formed by Saturnian Valery Sokolov and another Rubin player Sergei Golyatkin. The flanks were occupied by railwayman Ruslan Kambolov and Spartak Andrey Ivanov. Permanent assistance to the defensive quartet was provided by Artem Pershin, unbridledly touted by Vladimir Weiss at the start of the season. To the right Pershin was played by Igor Smolnikov, to the left - Zenit Maxim Andreev. Well, the Dzyuba duet - Salugin, turned out to be one of the most formidable in this qualifying tournament. At the 39th minute of the match with the Dutch, Artyom sent the newly-fledged Ivanovo player in a breakthrough to Tim Krul's goal, but Salugin, leaving his opponents behind, did not score. A little earlier, Sergei Borodin repelled a point-blank Jordi Beysa, which became the only dangerous moment at our gates.
Having come out of such trouble, the team of Ravil Sabitov, it seems, now there is simply no one to fear. Having beaten the English on their field and calmly achieving the right score in the game with one of the best junior teams in Europe, our 19-year-old team can confidently go to the final tournament in Austria with their own abilities. It will not be easy there, but the difficulties of our juniors will only mobilize.