Russia are taking on Chile in Moscow in their last warm-up game before the FIFA Confederations Cup. Both nations will be at the tournament, with Russia as hosts and Chile being drawn in Group B. Kick-off is 7pm Moscow time - RT Sport brings you live updates below.
09 June 2017
Full time: Russia 1-1 Chile
(90 +2) Glushakov and then Erokhin both have shots blocked as Russia break forward, ball eventually cleared.
(90) 4 minutes of added time in Moscow, scores still 1-1, time for a winner?
(90+1) Cesar Pinares bends a free kick around the wall but only finds the hands of Igor Akinfeev
(87 mins)
Getting a little Chile here in Moscow, some fans are already Russian off home (excuse the terrible humor).
(86) Alexander Bukharov coming on for Fyodor Smolov.
(85 mins)
Russia really pressing for a winner - good stuff from Cherchesov's men.
CLOSE!
Denis Glushakov goes for an overhead kick from a lovely Smolov cross - the midfielder connects well and forces Chile keeper Herrera into a smart save down to his left.
Arturo Vidal got a standing ovation from the Moscow crowd when he was substituted. The Bayern Munich midfielder was immense for Chile, a real commanding presence in the middle of the park and such a potent threat in the air. Unlucky not to be on the scoresheet.
(84) Kudryashov makes it back onto the field of play, but signals to the bench that he needs to be substituted. Cherchesov barks at substitute Ruslan Kambolov to strip off, who replaces stricken Kudryashov.
Into the last 10 minutes at VEB Arena - can anyone grab a winner?
(81) Angelo Sagal and Cesar Pinares coming on for Eduardo Vargas and Arturo Vidal for Chile.
(74) Alexis Sanchez effortlessly lets the ball run across his body to maneuver a left footed strike, which is saved by Akinfeev, Vidal crunches into Kudryashov in the Russia who stays down and has to receive treatment. Looks serious for the player, who is already wearing a protective mask and has to limp off the field of play.
The moment Viktor Vasin scores the goal.
(74) Golovin fires a left-footed shot high over the bar, turns away and grimaces in frustration. Charles Aranguiz comes off for Felipe Gutierrez for Chile.
GOAL FOR RUSSIA!
Viktor Vasin powers a header in from a Kombarov corner.
Russia 1-1 Chile
Gonazlo Sara booked for bringing down Smolnikov on the right hand side of the Chile area as the defender was set free, Chile defender Jara overstretched for the tackle. Smolnikov is immediately replaced by Alexander Erokhin.
(65 mins)
Erokhin comes on for Smolnikov for Russia.
Russia getting plenty of crowd support, with a huge roar going up whenever they press forward, but they can't seem to get into the final third. Sloppy passing and extremely tight Chilean defending going against them.
Change for Chile now - Paulo Diaz comes on for Chile for captain Gary Medel.
(59) Samedov puts the ball over with a tame shot from the edge of the area. That prompts Russia to make a substitution as Lokomotiv youngster Alexey Miranchuk comes off to be replaced by Rostov's Dmitry Poloz.
Change for Russia: Miranchuk off, Dmitry Poloz on. Cherchesov adding some firepower to get the team back in the game.
GOAL FOR CHILE!
That man Sanchez is involved straight away. He plays a lovely flighted ball through to Chile No. 4 Isla, who fires past Akinfeev.
(55 mins)
Here's the man we've all been waiting for... Alexis Sanchez is on for Chile - can he make the breakthrough for La Roja? The Arsenal man is on for Jose Fuenzalida.
(47 mins)
Russian defender Fyodor Kudryashev - already sporting a facemask after he broke his nose towards the end of the season - takes a whack in the face from Chile hardman Vidal.
And we're underway for the second half in Moscow...
So, what changes will we see in the second half?
Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi will presumably be keen to bring Alexis Sanchez on for some game time, while Cherchesov could look to add some firepower by bringing on Dmitry Poloz or Alexander Bukharov.
The moment of Vidal’s disallowed goal.
RT Sport's Danny Armstrong from VEB Arena in Moscow:
Goalless in the first half in Moscow. Both sides have created opportunities, most notably four headed chances from Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal, the fourth of which found the back of the net, but Spanish referee Jesus Manzano ruled the goal out for a push in the back. Russia went close at the other end through first Dmitry Kombarov and then Fedor Smolov, but neither could force a save from Chile goalkeeper Johnny Herrera. Russia manager Stanislav Cherchesov has become animated on the touchline at times, clearly frustrated at how his team have been lacklustre at times, and have failed to close down winger Jean Beausejour on the left flank, who has been instrumental for Chile and a real threat for with crosses from deep. Russia must step it up if they are to get anything from their final warm-up match before their opening game of the FIFA 2017 Confederations Cup in St. Petersburg next Saturday.
Half-time: Russia 0-0 Chile
A lively first half with chances for both teams. Vidal's disallowed goal was the closest Chile came, while Russia had some promising moments and could have taken the lead with more composure when shooting.
(39) Goal from Chile has been disallowed. Vidal rises AGAIN to meet the ball at the back post and fires his header home. But the goal is disallowed by the Spanish referee Jesus Manzano for a push int he back. Still 0-0 here.
(36) Jara this time tries to clear the ball under pressure from near the Chile line, his clearance only finds Miranchuk on the edge of the Chile area, who chests the ball down but can only slice the ball wide on the volley
(35) Game heating up now as Alexey Miranchuk goes flying into a tackle, moments after and Gonzalo Jara receives the first yellow card of the game. Still goalless here int he capital.
Russian shooting has been a wild so far - something for Cherchesov to work on in training before next Saturday?
Just a reminder that Russia kick off their Confederations Cup campaign against New Zealand on Saturday June 17 at Saint Petersburg Stadium.
Russia are in Group A with New Zealand, Mexico and Portugal.
Chile head to Romania for another friendly after this game, before starting their Confederations Cup games against Cameroon on 18 June in Moscow’s Spartak Stadium.
They are in Group B with Cameroon, Germany and Australia.
For all the info, check out our Confed Cup site: https://www.rt.com/fifa2018
(34) Yellow card for Chile man Hernandez, who pulls back Smolov as the Russian tries to break away in the center of the pitch.
(24 mins)
Again Beausejour crosses for Vidal, this time from the line, but the latter's header this time is held onto by Igor Akinfeev.
(23 mins)
Smolov breaks down the left but shanks his shot wide. Lively from the Russian front man.
Beausejour floats a fantastic ball in to the Russia area from deep on the left flank, which is met by. rising Arturo Vidal, who puts the ball just over Igor Akinfeev's bar.
(20 mins)
Things have camed down a bit since that flurry of chances, with Chile keeping the ball well in the center of the pitch.
Chile have a corner from Martin Rodriguez's shot was poked behind, a chorus of boos as the ball is swung in and misses everyone in the area, Jean Beausejour's follow up cross is cleared.
Stanislav Cherchesov
Russian coach Cherchesov is prowling the touchline. He has the distinct appearance of an old-skool, no-nonsense type - not a man to be messed with!
(15 mins)
It's been a lively opening 15 minutes, with chances for both sides. We don't want to jinx it, but looks like there'll be some goals in this...
Fedor Smolov, playing up front as a lone striker for Russia, shoots at goal but his left-footed effort is straight at keeper Hernandez.
Then at the other end Eduardo Vargas forces a save from Igor Akinfeev low down to his left hand near post after meeting a cross from the right hand side. Excellent reactions from Russia's keeper and captain.
9 mins
Russian midfielder Denis Glushakov breaks through a tries his luck from about 18 yards, but his shot swings wide.
Hits the post!
Dmitry Kombarov plays a neat one-two on the egde of the Chile box and fires a right-footed shot across the face of the goal, just clipping the post and going wide.
Russia are on top at the moment.
A note on youngster Golovin - just 21 years old, he's already well-established in the CSKA and Russian teams.
He's in our top 5 young starts to look out for the Confed Cup.
Foul as Bayern Munich star goes in hard on Igor Smolnikov on the edge of the Russia area, who goes down heavily. Free kick Russia.
5 mins
Not too much to report in the opening five minutes – both sides probing without creating any chances.
Game's kicked off we are underway here in Russia's final warm up game before the Confederations Cup next week. Russia donning all-red strip, Chile wearing all-white.
Kick-off approaching
The teams are out - not long till kick-off!
The venue
The venue for today’s game is VEB Arena, the home of CSKA Moscow.
It holds 30,000 fans, and was opened in September 2016.
It’s not one of those being used in the Confed Cup though – that honor goes to Spartak’s home, Saprtak Stadium (aka Otkrytiye Arena) and Luzhniki national stadium – which holds a whopping 81,000 when it reopens.
For a unique look at the Confederations Cup stadiums, check out RT’s Stadia 360 (https://www.rt.com/fifa2018/stadiums) feature on our dedicated Confederations Cup website
Key men – Russia
Denis Glushakov has enjoyed a fantastic season with club team Spartak Moscow, captaining them to their first league title in 16 years.
The midfielder is usually at the center of things, with most of the play for club and country being directed through him.
As well as being a playmaker, he has a handy knack of popping up to score crucial goals, such as this last-minute winner for Spartak this season.
Another man to watch is striker Fyodor Smolov. The Krasnodar man has topped the Russian Premier League’s scoring charts for the past two seasons, and scored a fine goal in the last friendly against Hungary.
The onus will especially be on Smolov to step up, with Zenit St. Petersburg striker Artyon Dzyuba ruled out of the Confed Cup due to injury.
Teams sheets:
Key men – Chile
Chile’s main man is undoubtedly Alexis Sanchez – a livewire bundle of energy whose work rate is matched only by his ability to produce the spectacular. On the bench tonight, Russian fans would welcome the chance to see what the Arsenal man can do.
Sanchez has still shone in a difficult season at the London club, which saw them fail to qualify for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years.
Speculation is rife that Sanchez will join teammate Arturo Vidal at German giants Bayern Munich this summer, and Sanchez might see his break with the national team as a welcome distraction from the Gunners’ troubles.
Aforementioned midfielder enforcer Vidal is also a man to watch for Chile. The intimidatingly-tattooed Bayern Munich man is good at breaking up the play, but offers much more than that and poses a goal threat with his shooting range.
Team news – Russia
Here’s the Russian line-up.
For the benefit of those who don’t read Cyrillic (which we appreciate may be a fair few of you), here’s the line-up in the Latin alphabet:
Akinfeev (No. 1), Vasnin (5), Kudryashev (13), Shishkin (3), Kombarov (23), Samedov (19), Smolnikov (2), Glushakov (8), Golovin (17), Miranchuk (15), Smolov (9).
There are several changes from the side that beat Hungary earlier this week, including Spartak man Dmity Kombarov coming into the defense.
Team news – Chile
Chile have tweeted their line-up for tonight’s clash.
There’s serious star power in there in the form of Bayern Munich man Arturo Vidal, while Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez is on the bench.
RT Sport at the game
We’ve also got RT Sport’s Danny Armstrong at the stadium to bring us all the latest on the fans and atmosphere at the game.
The Chile fans look like they're up for it!
Current form
Russia go into the game on the back of a 3-0 win against Hungary on Monday, although the scoreline somewhat flattered them, and they lost midfielder Roman Zobnin to injury, which marred the victory somwewhat.
Before that there was an exciting 3-3 draw against Belgium in March and a 1-0 defeat to Ivory Coast in the same month, so a mixed bag for Stanislav Cherchesov’s men.
Chile spanked Burkina Faso 3-0 last Saturday, whole World Cup qualifiers in March saw them beat Venezuela 3-1 but fall to a 1-0 defeat against Argentina.
They currently sit fourth in the South America World Cup qualifying group – one point ahead of Argentina – with the top four teams guaranteed an automatic spot in Russia next year, and the fifth-placed side having to negotiate an intercontinental playoff.
Chile favorites?
Chile will go into the game as favorites, based both on the personnel in the team and their FIFA ranking.
La Roja (The Red One) are ranked fourth in the world while Russia currently sit a lowly 63rd – their worst position since ratings began.
Granted, as World Cup hosts Russia have not had the benefit of competitive games as they qualify automatically, but ‘Sbornaya’ will have to really go some to defy the gulf in rankings tonight.
Welcome to RT Sport’s special coverage of the Russia-Chile friendly match at VEB Arena in Moscow. We’ll be bringing you all the build-up to the game, as well as all the action once the match kicks off. Follow all the updates on this page.