Euro 2016 did not go at all well for the Russians, who were arguably the most dismal side to watch in France. Results were perhaps even worse than performances, with Leonid Slutsky's men sent home early after a fortunate 1-1 draw with England and two losses to Slovakia and Wales. All of that contributed to what was yet another poor tournament showing from Russia, who should now be included among the world's biggest underachievers when it comes to football. There will be a desperation to bounce back and prove people wrong over the next 12 months or so, beginning with their first ever appearance at the Confederations Cup.
Russia have not played any competitive matches since the European Championship, which makes this summer's tournament even more important ahead of the main event next year. Manager Stanislav Cherchesov, who replaced Slutsky at the helm after the Euros, may therefore be tempted to use the competition to experiment between different systems, personnel and approaches, although the pressure on Russia to perform will probably dictate that the ex-Terek Grozny, Dynamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow and Legia Warsaw head coach names his strongest starting XI whenever it is possible to do so.
Veteran goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev remains the first-choice net-minder and captain, but defensive stalwarts Sergei Ignashevich and Vasili Berezutski have now departed the international scene. Alan Dzagoev and Artem Dzyuba have both pulled out of the squad through injury and will be missed, with Russia having to find alternatives to the former's invention and the latter's goalscoring threat. The only youngsters in the squad are 21-year-olds Aleksandr Golovin and Aleksei Miranchuk, which is a reflection of both the dearth of gifted prospects in Russian football and how seriously they are taking the tournament.
Cherchesov has employed a variety of different formations in his side's recent friendlies, including 5-3-2, 3-4-2-1, 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1. It will thus be interesting to see which setup he settles on for the Confederations Cup, with three at the back looking most likely at this stage. Russia will probably play on the counter-attack against Portugal and Mexico, although they will be obliged to take the initiative in their opener against New Zealand.
Russia will be desperate to progress to the semi-finals, but that objective may be beyond them. Portugal are widely expected to finish at the summit of the standings in Group A, and Mexico's superior quality means they will probably join the European champions in the knockout phase. Cherchesov, his players and the rest of the home nation may therefore be left disappointed, with third spot most likely for Russia this month.
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