Published: 13 October, 2009, 11:24
Edited: 13 October, 2009, 09:00
Russia coach Guus Hiddink has added two new faces to his squad for Wednesday’s match in Azerbaijan. Midfielder Dmitry Tarasov and defender Oleg Kuzmin will make their international debuts.
With Russia already through to the World Cup play-offs the game is seen as a chance to experiment.
The Russians could have been already been well on the road to South Africa, but they have lots more to do after losing 1-0 to Germany in the most important match of the year.
All Guus Hiddink's men can do now is await the play-offs after the next qualifier against Azerbaijan, which is now not much more than a training session.
Roman Pavlyuchenko, Vasily Berezutsky and Pavel Pogrebnyak are all sidelined so that there is no risk of injury or suspension. As such, Dmitry Tarasov of FC Moscow and Oleg Kuzmin of Lokomotiv will head to the pitch in their stead.
While it makes no difference to their World Cup hopes, the coach says the game's still important.
“It’s not because of rest, of course we focus on the play-off round in November, but we play a game in Azerbaijan also for a lot of prestige, for ourselves. We want to be committed to good results and good performance,” Guus Hiddink said.
Russia will find out who stands between them and South Africa on October 19, when the play-off draw is made.
Guus Hiddink’s men are seeded, meaning they'll play a lower-ranking team, but it's not going to be easy, with rivals including Ukraine, Ireland, Bosnia and Slovenia still in the pot.