Russia's Vasilli Berezutsky, left, challenges Estonia's Kristen Viikmae, (No 9), for the ball during the World Cup, European Group 3 qualifying soccer match between Estonia and Russia in Tallinn, Estonia, Wednesday, March 30, 2005.
Photo: AP
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Russia Draws Away to Estonia
Yesterday, Russia met Estonia in the World Cup qualifying soccer match. The Russians played better than they did four days ago with Liechtenstein, but the outcome was worse. With 1:1 draw, the chances to qualify for World Cup are next to zero, as Russians will have to win all other matches.
Evidently disappointed with the match with Liechtenstein, Russia’s team’s coach Georgy Yartsev replaced three players – Vadim Evseev was replaced by Alexey Smertin, Andrey Kariaka by Yury Zhirkov, Vyacheslav Malafeev by Igor Akinfeef. The strategy was also changed. The team started playing with three full-backs. Dmitry Khohlov moved closer to the alien gates.
Though Estonia is rated higher than Liechtenstein, the Russians were leading from the start and till the very end of the match. Arshavin put the ball in the net 7 minutes earlier than the goal to Liechtenstein. Estonia became active after the break but the drawing goal was hit by chance. The Estonians were beating a long-distance penalty kick. Before the gates, the ball hit the heel of Zhirkov to fly off exactly to the foot of Terekhov. The half-back was 8-meters from the gates and gave Estonia a draw in the qualifying match.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Mar. 31, 2005
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