How strong is the Russian team in the futsal World Cup?

Russia kept the same starting lineup for all three group stage matches, except for one change in goalkeeper position. The other four players who always started were No. 10 Robinho, No. 12 Ivan Chishkala, No. 14 Daniil Davydov and No. 15 Andrei Afanasyev.

Afanasyev plays the role of a pivot with a height of 1m90 and a weight of 89kg, but when defending he will turn into a defender (fixo). The one who initiates the attack and finishes the most is winger (ala) Robinho. This group can be considered the first group of Russia, having played together for 36 minutes and 3 seconds in the total of 120 minutes. This group has scored five goals when playing together.

Members of Group 1 of the Russian futsal team celebrate a goal at the 2021 Futsal World Cup. Photo: RFU

The main attacking plan of this team is for Robinho to pull the ball and deal cards from the back. Afanasyev will act as a wall to pass it back to Robinho or Chishkala to shoot, or he will manage to finish himself. Robinho was the Russian player with the most shots in the group stage, with 20. Davydov often plays the role of decoy.

Russia's second unit, consisting of No. 3 Romulo, No. 5 Ruslan Kudziev, No. 9 Sergei Abramov and No. 11 Artem Niyazov, played together for 33 minutes and 30 seconds, scoring four goals. Kudziev usually played the pivot role, although he could also play ala. The ball was often passed to Abramov to organize.

Robinho (No. 10) was Russia's most influential player in the group stage. Photo: RFU

The team is characterized by a fast style of play and players switching positions more often. No player has a fixed role on the pitch. However, Niyazov and Abramov are mainly responsible for finishing, with Kudziev acting as a decoy. Niyazov had 15 shots in just two matches against Egypt and Uzbekistan, while Abramov was the Russian player with the most shots on goal with 10.

Russia's third group, consisting of No. 4 Artem Antoshkin, No. 6 Yanar Asadov, No. 7 Ivan Milovanov and No. 13 Sergei Abramovich, spent 29 minutes and 5 seconds on the pitch together, scoring five goals. This group was used most in the final group stage match against Guatemala, when Russia had already secured their place in the next round.

Group 3 has the youngest average age, only 28.75. The first two groups both have an average age of over 30. It can be said that group 3 is not the most highly rated on the Russian side, as they do not create many finishing opportunities.

However, coach Sergei Skorovich still has hidden cards in the three group stage matches.. The proof is that in the match against Uzbekistan, Russia was held to a 2-2 draw until less than 10 minutes of the match remained. After rotating all three groups above without being able to score, Skorovich paired two players from group 1 with two players from group 2, including number 9 Abramov, number 10 Robinho, number 11 Niyazov and number 12 Chishkala. Russia scored two goals in less than a minute thanks to Niyazov. This group of players from number 9 to number 12 only played together for 3 minutes and 10 seconds in that match.

Over three games, the same four players lead the two key statistics: goals and assists. Abramov, Niyazov and Chishkala are joint top scorers, with three goals each. Robinho leads the way in assists, with four assists.

Moreover, Russia has yet to use one of the best pivots in the world like Eder Lima.. Neither the Russian press nor the Russian Futsal Federation's homepage once mentioned the inexplicable absence of number 8 Eder Lima in the three group stage matches. It is unclear whether Lima is injured or a trump card of coach Skorovich.

Lima, though 37 years old, is still at a different level than most of the pivots at the tournament. Compared to Brazil's Ferrao, Lima is on par with him. The Brazilian-born naturalized player is 1m84 tall and weighs 87kg, which means he is a little smaller than Afanasyev. However, Lima's ability to handle the ball and his tactical thinking are much better. When Russia beat Vietnam 7-0 in the 1/8 round of the 2016 futsal World Cup, Lima assisted four goals, most of them from pressing and passing the ball to teammates to shoot.

Eder Lima (top row, third from left) has yet to play a single minute of the tournament. Photo: RFU

It is not impossible that Lima will be the weapon used by Russia when they go further in the tournament. Vietnam is not a worthy opponent for Russia, so coach Skorovich can use Lima. However, Russia's potential opponent if they reach the quarterfinals is the defending champion Argentina. At that time, Skorovich will definitely have to show all his cards. And Lima will need to regain the feeling of playing in the match against Vietnam.

If Lima plays, he could replace Niyazov. Russia's strongest squad will consist of Robinho, Abramov, Chishkala and Lima. These are also the four most notable Russian players in this tournament.

Robinho and Lima are symbols of the wave of naturalized Brazilian players in Russian futsal, which began in 2005.. They played football together for 10 years at Urga Club, from 2006 to 2016. In 2009, they started playing for the Russian futsal team. This wave of naturalization has ended in the past few years, when a large part of the fans reacted.

The audience often pays attention to Robinho, although this 38-year-old player is only 1m65 tall. He often holds the ball, dribbles and shoots the most for Russia. With his magical left foot, Robinho can confidently hold the ball and dribble right in his own half, even when there are no teammates around.

Russia no longer naturalizes futsal players, thanks in part to the progress of homegrown players like Abramov and Chishkala. Abramov is arguably one of the best players in the world, as he can dribble, shoot and play as a wall. Chishkala is a rising talent, having moved to play alongside Robinho at Benfica in 2020.

This could be Robinho and Lima's last World Cup, and their last chance to win a world title. Their dream won't come true easily as Russia's potential quarter-final opponents are world number three Argentina, number two Brazil and number one Spain. But first, Russia still need to overcome Vietnam in the round of 16.

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