MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) considers forward Artyom Dzyuba and defender Mario Fernandes as the key players of the Russian national football team, the UEFA stated in its overview of the Russian squad ahead of the 2020 Euro Cup.

Describing Dzyuba, the UEFA said: "The towering striker had to wait until he turned 27 to become a regular for Russia."

"Soon after the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where Dzyuba scored three goals and helped the team qualify for the quarter-finals, he inherited the captain's armband from Igor Akinfeev following the latter's international retirement. Now 32, the

Zenit forward is still leading Russia's attack in terms of goals, assists and link-up play."

Praising Fernades as a key player for the Russian national side, UEFA stated: "The Brazil-born defender, who is in his ninth season at CSKA Moskva and became eligible for Russia in 2017, made an instant impact in the right-back slot for the national side."

"Fernandes is irreplaceable, being both solid at the back and dangerous going forwards. It was his header deep into extra time against Croatia that took Russia's 2018 World Cup quarter-final to penalties."

Dzyuba, 32, who is also the captain of the Russian national football team, has been playing for Zenit St. Petersburg FC since 2015 and in the 2019/2020 RPL season he chalked up 17 goals and 13 assists in 28 matches leading Zenit St. Petersburg FC to win the RPL Championship and to clinch later the Russian Cup.

During his stint with the national squad, Dzyuba scored 26 goals in his 47-match appearances, which is ranked as the second best in the history of the Russian national football team.

He currently shares this 2nd place with Vladimir Beschastnykh, who also scored 26 goals in his 72-match appearances for the Russian national side, but after Alexander Kerzhakov, who holds a record of scoring 30 goals for the Russian national football team.

At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Russia in 11 cities across the country, Dzyuba led his national squad to the quarterfinals stage of the global football championship, where Russia lost to Croatia in a penalty shootout (3-4) following a tense match, which ended with 2-2 draw in the main time. Dzyuba booked three goals and two assists at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Mario Fernandes, 30, has booked three goals and three assists in his 25 match appearances for the Russian national football team.

On March 17, 2020, UEFA a decision to postpone the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup for exactly one year as a preventive measure against the ongoing global spread of the novel coronavirus. The championship was rescheduled to be held between June 11 and July 11, 2021 and Russia’s second largest city of St. Petersburg is among 12 cities in Europe to host the European championship’s matches.

A decision to hold the 2020 Euro Cup, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020, in various European countries instead of in one or two hosting countries was made at the UEFA Executive Committee’s meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, on December 6, 2012.

The matches of the 2020 Euro Cup are scheduled to be held at stadiums in 12 different cities across Europe, namely in London (England), Munich (Germany), Rome (Italy), Baku (Azerbaijan), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Bucharest (Romania), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Dublin (Ireland), Bilbao (Spain), Budapest (Hungary), Glasgow (Scotland) and Copenhagen (Denmark).