Russia boss Fabio Capello announced his final squad for the upcoming Luxembourg and Israel World Cup qualifiers. Russia, 2nd in Group F with 12 points and a game in hand on 1st-place Portugal (14 points), will host Luxembourg in Kazan on September 6 and Israel in St. Petersburg on September 10.
Capello’s men have yet to face Luxembourg, last in the group, though competitive with three draws in six outings. Israel, meanwhile, fell to Russia 4-0 at home last September and will be seeking revenge, fully aware that a win at Petrovsky Stadium could put them 2nd in the group.
25-year-old Rostov forward and RPL leading scorer Artem Dzyuba is the most surprising omission from the list, given Russia’s lack of depth at the position. Capello has called on young Dynamo forwards Aleksandr Kokorin and Fedor Smolov instead, along with Zenit veteran Aleksandr Kerzhakov.
CSKA, Zenit and Dynamo each have six players on the squad, with Rubin, Rostov, Kuban, Spartak and Lokomotiv the other clubs represented.
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA), Vladimir Gabulov (Dynamo), Sergei Ryzhikov (Rubin).
Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit), Aleksei Berezutski, Vasili Berezutski, Sergei Ignashevich, Georgi Schennikov (CSKA), Vladimir Granat (Dynamo), Vitaliy Dyakov (Rostov), Aleksei Kozlov (Kuban), Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak).
Midfielders: Igor Denisov, Aleksei Ionov (Dynamo), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA), Denis Glushakov (Spartak), Aleksandr Ryazantsev (Rubin), Vladimir Bystrov, Oleg Shatov, Viktor Fayzulin, Roman Shirokov (Zenit), Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv).
Forwards: Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Zenit), Aleksandr Kokorin, Fedor Smolov (Dynamo).