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Russia has reasons for optimism despite Confed Cup exit

Associated Press

MOSCOW (AP) — When the anger subsides after another group stage exit and another goalkeeping blunder, Russian fans might find they can be proud of their team at the Confederations Cup.

Russia failed to reach the knockout rounds of a fourth major tournament in a row, but there's no shame in losing by one goal to European champion Portugal and North American champion Mexico.

"We will move on," coach Stanislav Cherchesov said after Saturday's 2-1 loss to Mexico. "We have won (the fans') hearts and minds to a certain extent in this month that we have been together ... I think that we have given some reasons to feel optimistic about us."

If Russia's fans agreed with Cherchesov that Russia had done well to limit Portugal to a single Cristiano Ronaldo goal, there was frustration that Russia hadn't done better against a poor Mexican side.

Russia wasted chances to exploit Mexico's ragged defending and add to Alexander Samedov's opener, while goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev performed an inexplicable lunge which allowed Hirving Lozano to head in the winner. Akinfeev was lucky not to be red-carded, too, after his foot caught Lozano in the chest.

Akinfeev was the immediate scapegoat for Russia's exit, with fans and newspapers calling for his removal.

The most-capped player in the squad — the Mexico game was his 101st international appearance — Akinfeev's bulletproof consistency in the Russian Premier League has kept him the undisputed national-team No. 1 for years.

When the world is watching, though, he gets flustered and makes mistakes.

Against South Korea at the 2014 World Cup, an innocuous long shot slipped from his grasp and went in, paving the way for another early Russian exit from the tournament. There have been more than a few blunders in the 43 games since Akinfeev last kept a clean sheet for CSKA in the Champions League, too.

But it's hard to see who could replace him. The naturalized Brazilian reserve keeper Guilheme is agile but injury prone, while Vladimir Gabulov is a solid but unspectacular veteran. Zenit St. Petersburg's Yuri Lodygin challenged Akinfeev for a while, but was brought low by his own tendency for embarrassing errors.

On the positive side for Russia, defender Georgy Dzhikiya was solid in all three group games after having only made his debut on June 5, and Cherchesov's three-man back line was mostly reliable.

Less successful was Cherchesov's attempt to bolster the midfield by starting Roman Shishkin — usually a defender — in a defensive midfield role against Portugal and Mexico, while 33-year-old ex-Chelsea winger Yuri Zhirkov did his World Cup hopes no favors with a red card Saturday.

Russia's run of injuries before the tournament weakened the midfield in particular, with Alan Dzagoev and the promising Roman Zobnin both missing out. Forward Artyom Dzyuba's absence left Cherchesov relying heavily on Fyodor Smolov, who showed touches of class but missed a good chance against Portugal.

Perhaps the biggest damage from Russia's Confederations Cup exit will be to Russian pride.

Officials have often bragged that the home advantage for next year's World Cup could drive Russia to new heights, perhaps a repeat of South Korea's charge to the semifinals in 2002. Those expectations are now being reviewed.

Just one World Cup host in history — South Africa in 2010 — has failed to get out of the group stage. Avoiding a repeat may be the most Russia can hope for.

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Tales Azzoni in Kazan, Russia, contributed to this report.

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