MOSCOW, June 30. /TASS/. The Russian Football Union (RFU) Technical Committee has given the work of the national team’s head coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, at the 2020 UEFA Euro Cup, low marks branding it unsatisfactory, said Mikhail Gershkovich, a member of the committee, in an interview with TASS on Wednesday.
"The [RFU] Technical Committee has assessed Cherchesov’s work at the Euro Cup as unsatisfactory," Gershkovich disclosed. "Cherchesov has acknowledged it as well, having pointed it out in his statement."
The Russian football team has wrapped up its European championship tour finishing in Group B’s cellar with three points after three matches. The team kicked off its 2020 Euro Cup campaign with a 0-3 defeat against Belgium and a 1-0 win over Finland - both matches were played in Russia’s St. Petersburg. Nevertheless, they lost to Denmark 1-4 in Copenhagen on the night of June 21.
"Cherchesov has admitted it by saying that the work was unsatisfactory if the team finished in the 4th place [of its group]," Gershkovich continued. "Everyone [on the committee] agreed with that and also wished the national team success in the qualifying stage for the 2022 [FIFA] World Cup. The committee suggested drawing conclusions and bettering the team’s game level, although it might not be easy.
Cherchesov addressed the session of the RFU Technical Committee on Wednesday delivering a report on the results of the national football team’s work at the major European championship.
"The main conclusion of his report is that the team was on par with the rest of teams in terms of their physical shape, as confirmed by the tests taken from football players during the preparation. The main problem is the skill level of our players," Gershkovich said.
"Cherchesov noted that when compared to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, our footballers did not exhibit their devotion or spark [for a win] this time around. They also suffered a serious drop in the level of their game skills."
Cherchesov, 57, took the reins of the national football squad in the summer of 2016 signing a contract with the RFU to work as the head coach of the team until August 2018.
In July 2018, the RFU extended the contract with Cherchesov for two more years stipulating an option of prolonging it for another two-year term. The decision of the Russian governing football body to maintain its partnership with Cherchesov followed the national team’s successful home performance during the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
Led by Cherchesov, the Russian national football team managed to reach the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup advancing with a win over the Spanish team in the round of Last 16 and then losing on a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals to Croatia, which eventually reached the final match of that world championship in Russia.