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There is a special brilliance to international football, where allegiances to club are cast aside for the honour and glory of representing ones homeland. Clubs will rise and fall just as players will shift sides for any number of reasons but for those who have been bestowed the honour of wearing the crest of their homeland, it is something that they hold dear to them throughout their lives. The hunger that burns inside of those with noble intent of bringing honour to the flag is unsurpassed and brings out the absolute best that the sport has to offer.
Qualifying for the World Cup is far from an easy test and with the quality of the sport continuously building throughout the world, no country is guaranteed an easy route into the tournament. Leading into the final stages of qualification, there are a number of the sports powerhouses that could be watching the World Cup that further stresses this point. It would a stunning commentary of the sports worldwide development if luminaries such as Argentina, France or Portugal are missing but such is the case in a very unpredictable and heavily contested qualification period.
From the moment Group 4 was drawn in November 2007, most assumed the battle for the top spot would be between Russia and mighty Germany and without fail, the two great sides are on a collision course. However long before Germany visits Luzhniki in October, Russia faces a stubborn test against Wales in Cardiff with winning their only option. Failure to win in Cardiff would put Russia in the unenviable situation of winning a berth via the playoff stage.
Guus Hiddink’s knows the formidable problems the Welsh side will pose as Russia needed a late strike by Pavel Pogrebnyak to win last years encounter at Lokomotiv Stadium 2-1. Despite being plagued with a number of injuries and a host of teenagers in the line-up, Wales did well to lock down the Russian attack for much of the day. Though John Toshack's Welsh side have had a great deal of problems in the attacking end, they are a team of vast potential that could drive the Dragons to great heights in years to come. Russia will have to deal with a highly disciplined tactical approach that will allow few opportunities and pounce on Guus Hiddink’s over commitment with quick counter offensives. The hosts are further bolstered with the return of central defenders Danny Gabbidon and James Collins and dangerous Manchester City striker Craig Bellamy but will miss Simon Davies, Andy King, Lewin Nyatanga, Jason Koumas, newly retired from international football, along with questions on the availability of Simon Church and Jack Collison.
Though Russia is hopeful that the injured trio Andrey Arshavin, Denis Kolodin and Yuriy Zhirkov can recover in-time for the match, they will need to adjust their tactical plan to do without Igor Denisov who misses due to suspension. From Guus Hiddink's vantage, Saturday’s 3-0 result over Liechtenstein at Petrovsky Stadium was a mixed affair where his side showed good attacking spirit in the opening forty-five minutes but for the most part suffered the all-too frequent finishing problems. Tempered with a top-shelf bold attacking spirit, Russia was unable to close out the majority of their chances and it is no telling what the final score could have been if they possessed the needed touch. This concern must reign supreme for the manager as it is unlikely Wales will provide many high probability opportunities and Russia cannot squander any openings in they are to return home with the three points.
Prepared by Sport Express correspondent John Davies
