Russia manager Stanislav Cherchesov has said that his team have deserved the victories over Saudi Arabia and Egypt in the group stage of the World Cup. The Russians had come into the global tournament without a win in 2018 but they have managed to turn things around with six points acquired from their opening two group stage games.
Speaking after the 3-1 win over Egypt, Cherchesov said: “It is not an accident that we have two wins under our belt, we have a group of solidarity. We will win because we want to.” Meanwhile, striker Aytem Dzyuba stressed that the team should not look into future and they should savour the moment of having qualified for the round of 16 stage, he said: “Let us not talk about the next stage now and simply rejoice and celebrate this moment and this victory. We pressed them across the whole pitch, did not let them pass the ball. It was a very good and a strong match.”