The Russian national football team successfully passed the qualifying round and earned a direct ticket to the 2020 European Football Championship. And after the draw, which took place on December 30 in Romania, her rivals in the group stage became known.
Unlike previous qualifying rounds for the European Football Championships, this time the Russian national team did not experience any particular problems in their group. She confidently took second place and got into the second basket in the draw. Of all the opponents, only the Belgians, who are considered the best team in Europe at the moment, were able to beat the Russian national team.
Already before the start of the draw, it was known that the teams of Denmark and Belgium would definitely fall into the group for the Russian national team at EURO 2020. Thus, it remained only to recognize one possible opponent. As a result, it was the Finnish national team, which for the first time made it to such a prestigious tournament in its history.
Group B, where the Russian national team will play
The national teams received serial numbers during the draw. The Russian national team will play their first match against Belgium in St. Petersburg. Then there will be a game against Finland. And already in the third round Russia will go to Copenhagen to visit the Danes.
This is not the worst draw for the Russian national football team. Wales with Gareth Bale could be in place of Finland. In addition, the Russian national team will play two matches at the home stadium in St. Petersburg. The Russian national team should get out of such a group, given the fact that even from the third place there is a chance to get into the playoff zone.
In total, the 2020 European Football Championship will be held in 12 countries at 12 different stadiums. And this will be the first tournament of its kind to have such a large number of host countries. UEFA EURO 2020 kicks off on 12 June next summer with a match between Turkey and Italy in Rome.
Now the Russian national football team will be on vacation. And already from March 2020, it will begin preparations for the European Championship. Several friendly matches will be played. So far, the team's rivals are unknown, but it seems that one of them should be the team of Moldova.
Almost all well-known experts note that the Russian national team was lucky with the draw. It could have been much worse. Therefore, the team is obliged to please its fans with a very good game and reach at least the semifinals.
The history of Russia's meetings with its rivals in the European Championship 2020
The Russian national team plays against Belgium regularly. Moreover, these are often matches of the World Championships. This was the case in 2002, when the Russians lost 2: 3 and dropped out of the tournament in Japan and Korea. And in 2014 in Brazil, when Belgium turned out to be stronger than the Russian national team with a score of 1: 0. These teams also played in the same group in the 2020 European Championship Qualifiers. Both matches ended in favor of the Belgians.
The Russian footballers have played 4 matches against Finland up to this point. These were the Qualifying Rounds of the 1996 European Championship and the 2010 World Cup. In all meetings, the Russian national team won confident victories. Moreover, she conceded only 1 goal and scored 15 goals.
Russia played only one friendly match with the Danish national team in 2012. The victory was won with a score of 2: 0. We will have to play a very difficult and decisive match with this opponent.
