Who else should Karpin have called up for the Russian team? There are 10 candidates
Anatoly Romanov March 18, 2024, 08:15 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.
Let’s choose the most worthy.
The Russian team faces two of the toughest tests since its suspension from international competitions: the friendly matches with Serbia (March 21) and Paraguay (March 25). The best footballers in the country should play in matches with these rivals. Valery Karpin called almost three dozen candidates, but maybe he forgot someone he needed?
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We invite you to participate in the voting and elect someone who can most strengthen the Russian team. We select 10 applicants for the interview. Please note that this list will not include players who did not play or had minimal practice in 2024 due to injuries or other reasons: for example, Vyacheslav Karavaev, Alexander Soldatenkov and Nikita Krivtsov. Who would you add to the national team? Also write in the comments.
During the voting, the players will be distributed to their places. The rating depends entirely on the votes of the “Championship” readers and is formed online.
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Rating: who else should Valery Karpin call up for the Russian national team?
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Maxim Glushenkov, Lokomotiv
The 24-year-old Lokomotiv representative was not included in the Russian team, despite the fact that he participated in two goals against Sochi (scored one and organized an interception near the other’s penalty area) and provided an assist in the cup. He played with Baltika. Karpin says that Glushenkov does not suit him. According to the coach of the Russian national team, the competitors are now stronger. So far, Maxim has only two matches for the national team: against Kyrgyzstan and Qatar. After September 2023, they forgot about him.
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Ilya Lantratov, Lokomotiv
Four goalkeepers were invited to the Russian team at once, but Lokomotiv’s number one did not enter the quartet. According to the goalkeeping coach of our national team, Vitaly Kafanov, Lantratov this year is not the same as last year. Ilya misses goals he might not have missed before. Dynamo and Sochi scored two goals each in the RPL and Baltika scored another in the Russian Cup. There are no clean sheets. Do you share Kafanov’s opinion or does the railway worker still deserve a challenge?
Photo: IMAGO/TASS
Magomed Ozdoev, PAOK
One of the most successful Russian legionnaires remains out of the national team for the last season and a half. Karpin has not called up the 31-year-old midfielder since he joined the national team. Ozdoev is one of PAOK’s leaders in terms of time played in the Greek championship, with 5+1 goals in 26 games. It is true that in the last game of the conference league playoffs he only came on as a substitute due to injury. So Magomed flew to Berlin to see local doctors, and not to Moscow, where the Russian team was located.
Photo: fcks.ru
Nikita Saltykov, “Wings of the Soviets”
Over the past year, Saltykov has been talked about as one of the most promising Russian footballers of the new generation. They compare him with his future teammate at Lokomotiv, Pinyaev. But if Sergei already plays for the Russian national team, Nikita does not yet. And now Karpin did not invite the 19-year-old winger Krylia Sovetov to at least try him in training. Is the coach right? Meanwhile, in the first two rounds of the RPL in 2024, Saltykov had no effective actions.
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Artyom Karpukas, Lokomotiv
The young Lokomotiv defensive midfielder has been knocking on the doors of the first team for a long time, but so far Karpin has only opened those doors for him once. The symbolic debut occurred in the match against Qatar. In the second part of the RPL season, 21-year-old Karpukas continues to appear in the Railwaymen’s starting eleven, but so far not everything is going well. In the derby against Dynamo, Loko had a lot of freedom in the midfield. And in the meeting with Sochi, Artyom was sent off for two yellow cards.
Photo: Artyom Gusev, “Championship”
Kirill Gotsuk, Pari NN
The center back is the leader of Paris NN’s defense, which this season has lost the fewest goals in the RPL along with Krasnodar. Furthermore, the Nizhny Novgorod captain is dangerous on set pieces near the opponent’s goal. But he has not yet been called up to the Russian team, not even to meet him. Karpin probably believes that Gotsuk, 31, does not have enough speed to perform at a high level, because operating in a formation with three central defenders with a low defense and four with a higher defense are two big differences.
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Daniil Fomin, Dinamo
At the end of the 2022 World Cup qualifying round, Fomin became a solid player in the core of the Russian team. Karpin also released him for the decisive match against Croatia in Split. However, recently Daniil stopped being the first in the starting lineup and now completely in the national team squad. This spring, the 27-year-old center back was not in Dynamo’s squad for the derby against Lokomotiv, but then appeared on the field from the first minutes with Akhmat and in the Russian Cup with Zenit.
Photo: Dmitry Golubovich, “Championship”
Alexander Sobolev, Spartak
The Spartak center forward played in the red and white lineup in the spring in matches against Zenit in the RPL and Orenburg in the Russian Cup. In the match against St. Petersburg he was lost on the field, but scored against the Orenburg team. With the goal he helped the team advance to the next round of the RPL playoffs. However, the coach is apparently not satisfied with Sobolev’s form. The 27-year-old Spartak player did not receive any invitation to the national team, although he had previously attended regularly. In the last two games with Kenya and Cuba he scored a goal.
Photo: Artyom Gusev, “Championship”
Egor Golenkov, Rostov
Perhaps Karpin should have more faith in who he has on hand in Rostov. Forward Golenkov this RPL season is second only to Konstantin Tyukavin in field goals among Russian forwards. Egor started this spring by scoring the game-winning goal against Krylya Sovetov. The 24-year-old goalscorer has yet to play for the Russian first team, but it would be interesting to see how Golenkov develops in a team with a better midfield than Rostov.
Photo: RIA Novosti
Artyom Makarchuk, Sochi
The Russian national team, to put it mildly, does not suffer from an excess of left-footed defenders. Especially now, when Skopintsev sat on the Dynamo bench, and Krugovoi was sent to the Zenit reserve team. Makarchuk plays consistently for Sochi even under new coach Robert Moreno, despite the signing of Attiyat-Allah as a 2022 World Cup semi-finalist. However, Karpin did not call up the 28-year-old Sochi player, whom he included in the eleven starter for the match against Qatar last September.
