Injury-plagued Russia looking for lift

MOSCOW - World Cup host Russia will test its World Cup mettle in two tough friendlies against Brazil and France that just might lift team spirits after a rash of bad injuries.

Coach Stanislav Cherchesov lined up two of the trophy favorites to brace his men for the pressure of living up to President Vladimir Putin's expectations on home soil.

The absence of Brazilian star Neymar following foot surgery should take little glitter off a match that still feature the likes of Barcelona's Philippe Coutinho, for Brazil, and Manchester United's Paul Pogba, for France.

But Russia is a team of walking wounded which has already lost its star forward and a pair of key defenders for the June 14-July 15 finals.

All three went down while playing in the bitter cold that gripped Europe last month and turned some Russian pitches into sandpits.

"The way things are going, we are losing a key player to injury every month," Cherchesov said ahead of Friday's clash in Moscow with Brazil and Tuesday's encounter in Saint Petersburg with France.

"Now our job is to end all the moaning about our losses and have excellent preparations for the World Cup."

Success-starved

Fans are desperate to see Russia's home World Cup be the one where it progresses past the group stage for the first time since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Cherchesov took over Russia's reins after it crashed out of Euro 2016 without winning and drew scorn from the media in Moscow.

His rebuilding effort is culminating with a flurry of matches against some of soccer's most storied nations.

Russia was cautious in a 1-0 loss to Argentina but showed resolve in coming from behind twice to draw 3-3 with Spain in November.

Those results left fans encouraged about Russia's prospects in a group that includes Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

The host and Uruguay are favorites to make the last 16.

But the air was sucked out of the team when Zenit Saint Petersburg striker Alexander Kokorin ruptured knee ligaments in a Europa League match last week.

The very same injury has also sidelined Spartak Moscow fullback Georgy Dzhikiya and CSKA Moscow wingback Viktor Vasin - the heart of Russia's defense.

Brazil-born rightback Mario Fernandes, also of CSKA, will also be missing for an as yet unknown period because of a thigh strain.

Yet Russia's biggest problem has been its finishing and Kokorin's shattered knee may be particularly costly for the coach.

The 26-year-old has netted 12 times in 48 matches and is the trusted partner of forward Fyodor Smolov, who plays for Krasnodar.

The former Dynamo Moscow teammates have combined for 22 goals in Russia this season and Kokorin was playing some of the best soccer of his career.

Moscow's Sport Express newspaper described Kokorin as "the most talented player born in Russia in the latter 1990s". Cherchesov's options without Kokorin are limited and there is little time to try out formations other than his preferred three up front.

Brazil and France were meant to be Russia's big tests before Cherchesov fine-tunes his lineup against Austria and Turkey around two weeks before the World Cup kicks off.

Now Russia will play them with just two recognized forwards and a makeshift back four.

Yet not all is doom and gloom for the host.

Cherchesov's squad has a reputation for raising its game in major tournaments and it enters the final stretch of its build-up with seemingly little to lose.

Russia will further be bolstered by new stadiums packed to the rafters with fans hungry for glory.

"We have enough good players to choose from," Russian Football Union President Alexander Alayev said.

"Our guys are very ambitious and professional."

Agence France - presse