EFE (via 14ymedio), Moscow, 21 November 2023 — The Russian national team overwhelmed Cuba (8-0) this Monday in an unprecedented friendly match played in the city of Volgograd.
The locals scored three goals in the first 45 minutes through Obliakov, Golovin and Antón Miranchuk. The weak Cuban team conceded another five goals in the second half, the work of Silianov, Sobolev, Prutsev, Krivtsov and Mostovói.
The Russian Piniaev missed a penalty in the 85th minute, a shot that was stopped by the Cuban goalkeeper.
The match, which was attended by more than 40,000 spectators, was played in the Volgograd arena, the stadium located on the banks of the Volga River, in ancient Stalingrad, the scene of one of the bloodiest battles in history.
The match, which was attended by more than 40,000 spectators, was played in the Volgograd arena, the stadium located on the banks of the Volga River
It was the biggest victory of the team led by Valeri Karpin since it was excluded from international competitions due to the war in Ukraine in February 2022.
The Cuban coach, Yunielys Castillo, started with the following eleven: Arozarena; Pérez, Díaz, Sánchez, Calvo; Torres, Morrejón, Espino, Gloor, Paradela and Delgado.
Russia had never faced the Cuban national team before. The only precedent was the match played between the Soviet Union and the Cuban national team at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games, with the same result (8-0).
During the last two years, the Russians have had to face teams such as Cameroon, Kenya, Uzbekistan, Iran and Iraq due to the refusal of top-level teams to compete against the vilified Slavic team.
Translated by Regina Anavy
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