Karpin: Third Goal Was Possible After Scoring the Second

Russia national football team head coach Valery Karpin shared his thoughts with "Match TV" after the match against the Peru national team. "If we analyze the defensive play, everything was good.

We applied pressure while positioned in a 5-4-1 formation in defense, and there were no issues. Regarding the opponent's goal, in my opinion, it wasn’t even a dangerous situation; they simply took a shot from 30 meters out.

In the attack, however, there was a noticeable lack of speed, particularly in the first half. During halftime, players mentioned that it was difficult to play faster on this pitch.

It took three or four touches to control the ball. This caused problems with the speed of passing and ball reception.

There was almost no one- or two-touch play. In the first half, it was evident that Golovin and Miranchuk were collaborating a lot together.

Was this given as a specific directive? No, there wasn’t such an instruction, but they operated more centrally rather than on the flanks, and they had the opportunity to interact with each other.

The coaching staff and players were aware that the game wasn’t going to be easy. We couldn’t secure a 3-0 lead effortlessly.

But when the second goal was scored, even in the second half, chances started to be created. I think after the second goal, there could have potentially been a third or even a fourth goal."

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