The match with New Zealand at the stadium "St. Petersburg" has become a historic for Russia - our national team to this day did not compete in the Confederations Cup due to the specific (and symbolic) selection of competitors.
The winners of each of the six continental championships held by the respective confederations, the world champion and the host country team.
Despite the fact that the tournament is official, football federations perceive it more as a friendly. Russia itself can not afford this. For our team this tournament is a test of our forces in the maximum combat conditions. After all, if the other participants of the tournament are fighting in the official qualifying rounds, the Russian team from this duty is released. In addition, it is also an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves in the eyes of the fans - many still remember the terrible failure of the national team at the last European Championships in France.
It is not surprising that Stanislav Cherchesov's wards rushed forward with a starting whistle. In the first 10 minutes of the game, the Russians were able to create two scoring chances, in one of which the opponent just got lucky - after filing a corner defender Vasin hit the bar. Also in the asset can be entered the moment with the release of forward "Rostov" Dmitry Poloz one-on-one with the goalkeeper, which culminated in the fall of Russians. If the judge is a little more supportive, it was possible to count on a penalty - at the repeat it was clear that Marinovich played in the leg rather than in the ball.
Over time, more and more obvious in the first half was the advantage of the Russians before the opponent in the combination. Powerful New Zealanders did not always cope with the frisky players of midfield lines and attacks of the Russian national team. As a result, one of the combinations of our players near the penalty Marinovich was crowned with success. At the 31st minute, Poloz played one-on-one Denis Glushakova in one touch, and he gently pried the ball over the goalkeeper. Rushed to the aid of the defenders almost caught the ball on the goal line, but eventually flew along with him in the net - 1: 0. Goal recorded first to the captain of the Russian team, but by the end of the first half the authorship still copied to the defender guests Michael Boksella, touched the ball last.
In the second half the team of Cherchesova continued to play the attack, clearly intending to consolidate the advantage and secure themselves against a possible goal in the end and loss of points. With an interval of 5 minutes, Poloz could score twice. First, he responded to the feed from the right flank and struck his head in the counter to Marinich, and later - after a dynamic attack neatly struck in the far corner. In both cases, New Zealand goalkeeper frankly saved his team.
And yet the Russians squeezed the rival. At the 69th minute forward of "Krasnodar" Fyodor Smolov, before three times scoring in the match from the offside, ferried the ball gate from the goalkeeper's line after lumbago Alexander Samadov. The second goal, apparently, a little led to the feelings of guests who found themselves a sporting anger and were honored for a couple of scoring chances. In one episode, they could twice upset Igor Akinfeev and the company. If long-range shot of midfielder Ryan Thomas goalkeeper, "CSKA" was able to score on the corner himself, then after filing from the corner kick defender Tommy Smith had to endure literally from the "ribbon" Yuri Zhirkov. Perhaps it was the only standing segment in the game of New Zealand.
The remaining 15 minutes of the team finished without serious threat to their gates. Final score - 2: 0.
Russia started the first Confederation Cup in its history with a victory and three points. A good result at the start will have a positive effect on the mood of the team and fans, but it is worth looking at the tournament prospects with restrained optimism. Ahead of the game with the strongest in Europe, the Portuguese national team, led by Cristiano Ronaldo.