Kazakhstan disappointingly lost the decisive group match. But Adiev’s team can still reach the Euro Cup
Anatoly Romanov November 21, 2023, 01:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
In Slovenia everything was decided in the end. The Russian coach was once again close to being a sensation.
The Kazakhstan national team lost the decisive match of the group stage of Euro 2024 in Slovenia. But the team of Russian coach Magomed Adiev still has a chance to reach the European Championship. Now, until next year’s play-offs.
The Kazakhs only settled for a victory in Ljubljana, but Adiev’s team did not go headlong from the first minutes. On the contrary, the guests played carefully. We gave the ball and the territory to the home team, we defended with the entire team in a 5-3-2 formation, we pushed the Slovenians to the flanks and hoped to take advantage of the free space in the opponent’s half. Matjaz Kek’s team, of course, was not going to take risks either, so football was closed. But it’s still quite interesting, intense and emotional.
Only 10 minutes later, Adiev and Keck’s teams exchanged their first imprecise blows from afar. There was no real urgency until midfielder Mlakar headed a cross under Akhmat Bystrov’s defender. By the way, the RPL player played in a position that was not entirely familiar to him: he covered the entire right flank. Marat clearly made the wrong decision with his boots, which is why he slipped in some episodes. The Russian championship was also represented by Zenit defender Alip in the core of the Kazakhstan team. In such an important match, we even saw Nuraly dribble, which ended very unpleasantly for him – Karnichnik hit him on the legs.
How Kazakhstan won the previous match thanks to a super goal:
Kazakhstan has taken another step towards the euro! Adiev’s team was helped by a newcomer from Russia
The Kazakhstan national team had a good chance at the end of the half hour, when the Slovenians lost Chesnokov in the area, but the attacking midfielder failed to score the same beautiful goal as a few days earlier against San Marino. His header only weakened the home team’s star goalkeeper, Oblak. In the first half, the Kazakhs lost in shots – 2:7 (from the area – 1:5, on goal – 1:2), however, they would have gone to half-time with the score 0:0, if not for the terrible “arrival” of Vorogovsky. The left-back hovered in his own area, apparently waiting for the goalkeeper to run towards the ball, but he was wrong. And he hit Stoyanovich in the leg. The Polish Marciniak did not see the foul: the VAR helped the referee. Sheshko calmly scored from the penalty spot – goalkeeper Shatsky did not know where to jump.
It seemed that the chances of Adiev’s team were approaching zero, but after the break a completely different Kazakhstan team took the field. Not in terms of composition (the Russian coach made no changes) but in terms of mentality. The visitors improved their lines, began to confront the opponent more aggressively and improved their possession of the ball. And already in the 48th minute, two Kazakh attackers scored the goal. Samorodov cut off a pass from the right wing to second striker Orazov, whom the Slovenians managed to lose on the goal line. And he deftly sent the ball low into the net. The most surprising thing is that Orazov plays for Koper in Slovenia.
Video rights belong to National Sports Channel LLC. You can watch the video on the Match TV page on VKontakte.
With the score 1:1, Keck’s team did not try to keep the score with anti-football means, but instead wanted to win the ball back and return the game to its previous course. This partly worked. The set pieces made by the Slovenian team were especially dangerous. In one episode, Kazakh goalkeeper Shatsky made a beautiful save, in another, Kuat made a miraculous save. The former Orenburg and Khimki midfielder stopped the ball that flew into the empty goal with his chest after being hit by the former CSKA player Biyol. But Adiev’s team already felt that they could put pressure on the Slovenians! Orazov himself had another chance to score midway through the second half.
The Kazakh team fought until the last moment for a direct ticket to the Euro Cup. In the end, Adiev was not afraid to strengthen the attack with a debutant: he released the 21-year-old striker Sviridov, who had no caps for the national team. The risk didn’t work. Although in the second half the Kazakhs were almost equal in shots – 5:6 (from the area – 3:3, on goal – 2:4). But when the guests opened up, the Slovenians took advantage of their players’ advantage in individual play. The quick attack of the Keck team was completed by a brilliant dribble by Verbich.
Video rights belong to National Sports Channel LLC. You can watch the video on the Match TV page on VKontakte.
Slovenia goes to Euro 2024 and continues the qualification phase for Kazakhstan. In the Nations League playoffs, Adiev’s team’s rivals are Greece, Georgia and Luxembourg.
