Even though Kokorin was not quite outstanding in Russia’s short World Cup campaign, it is safe to say that he was their best player. Of course Kokorin will be gutted that he put that free header against Belgium just wide, but he made up for it in the Algeria game with his brilliant rocket header. Despite Russia’s poor showing, Kokorin can leave Brazil content, as not a lot of players can say they have scored a goal at the World Cup, especially at the age of 23. Kokorin was, after-all, the Russian player who stood out most at this World Cup, with the rest of the squad being pretty poor compared to recent performances.
Kokorin had the whole weight of Russia on his shoulders once the news of Shirokov’s injury came out. This surely put huge pressure on him going into the World Cup, which he could of done without. Russia, as we all know, slipped up and got knocked out in the group stage once again and a lot if blame points towards Capello.
Capello needs to accept his share of the blame for Russia’s performance. He slipped up with picking the squad for the tournament. For example, every fan of the Russian National Team thought Dzyuba should have been in the squad because of his fantastic season and his height. The result was that Kokorin was forced into duty at the striker position. Although Kokorin gained excellent experience playing as the lone striker at the highest level in football, perhaps even Kokorin himself would of thought that he would of be better suited to his usual left wing position.
As a result of Capello’s selection mistakes, many people believe he should resign his position even though he got Russia to the World Cup, as he could not handle the pressure when it mattered most. A lot of fans after the defeat believe Dick Advocaat would be best to come back as he played a more attacking game whereas Capello play a tedious slow pace game that leads to games that are difficult to watch.
One could argue that the Russian national team has never been the same since the fall of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union achieved a great deal, symbolized by winning the first European Championship in 1960. But this proud history has put a great deal of pressure on Russia to live up to this high standard. Russia of the past have been giants in a lot of sports, but football currently is not one of them. Even though the Russian league is growing bigger and stronger, the national team has hit hurdles in its growth which are proving difficult to get over.
This will now need to be fixed quickly as Russia are hosting the World Cup in only four years. This will be an advantage for Russia, as they will hopefully have their fans behind them. Could we see Russia storm the World Cup in 2018 like they did this year in the Sochi Winter Olympics, or will they fail to improve on this years performance? Much more is needed in addition to Kokorin to build for 2018.
Kokorin will be extremely disappointed to be out of the World Cup, but at least he will get the chance to represent Russia in Russia at the 2018 World Cup, whereas much of the squad will be filled with new talent. In particularly the center backs will surely be new faces as the current first choice options will be too old in 2018. This will of course help Kokorin too, as the rest of the squad may gain some pace that was missing in 2014.
It is now time for Kokorin to focus on the approaching season as Dynamo and himself will be looking for at least a top 3 place in the league and to advance quite far in the Europa League. Dynamo’s squad is strong, and will be strengthening over the summer transfer window. This will lead to a team that has a chance to put on a strong performance in Europe, and give Kokorin another chance to put his skills on display for the world.
Overall Russia were poor in this World Cup, and the dream for Kokorin and the national team remains on hold for another four years. Lets hope 2018 will be a different story because I’m sure Russia will want- and likely need- to perform better in front of their own fans on home soil. A lot of faith in the national team has surely been destroyed by recent disappointment, and the team will now look to turn the corner to rebuild for the future.
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Follow Andrew MacIver on Twitter: @AndrewRCFC97
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