What did the Russian national team head coach say after the match against Uzbekistan?

13 November 2026, 00:162 min read3

In Tashkent, the intense and uncompromising friendly match between the national teams of Uzbekistan and Russia ended with a comeback victory for the visitors — 3:2. After trailing by two goals in the first half, the Russians managed to turn the score in their favor after the break. Following the match, the head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Karpin, openly shared his thoughts on the game on the Okko broadcast.

«What we saw in the first half did not meet our expectations at all»

Karpin did not hide the fact that he was not fully satisfied with his team's overall performance, noting that he was particularly disappointed by their actions in the first half.

«I cannot say that I am very satisfied. Perhaps I am satisfied with the second half, but not with the whole game. Personally, I have more negative feelings than positive ones. What we saw in the first half did not meet our expectations at all. We talked during the break, after which we added intensity and energy to the game – only then did everything fall into place», — said Karpin.

Press comments and key aspects	Coach's assessment and thoughts
Dissatisfaction with the first half	The performance did not meet expectations at all, there are many negative feelings
Turning point	The talk during the break and the intensity and energy added in the second half
Mistakes made	The goals were almost scored by ourselves ("we scored against ourselves")
Future plans	The next friendly match will be held on November 17 in Krasnodar against Venezuela

«We practically scored two goals against ourselves»

The coach also touched upon the goals his team conceded, admitting to the gross errors made. According to him, the players created difficulties for themselves on the pitch.

«But we practically scored two goals against ourselves, not just one. I didn't like almost anything in the first half. Nevertheless, I think that the Russian national team has become stronger over these four years. This is my personal opinion, whether you agree or not. We are talking about the quality of the game in general, not the result here», — added the Russian national team coach.

As a reminder, the Russian national team's next friendly match will take place on November 17 in the city of Krasnodar against the Venezuela national team, starting at 21:00 Tashkent time.

In your opinion, how will such critical comments from Valery Karpin affect the team's further improvement in upcoming matches? Leave your thoughts in the comments!