A major victory over the Czech players at the very beginning of the tournament allowed the fans of the team to count on a successful performance of the Russian national team at Euro 2012. Unfortunately, these hopes were not destined to come true.
At the beginning of the match, the Czech national team players looked more active than our players, had more possession of the ball and put pressure when it was lost. But soon the Russians concentrated, carried out a good attack, culminating in a corner kick. From that moment on, the initiative passed to the charges of Dick Advocaat.
The turning point of the whole match was the episode at the 16th minute. Dzagoev intercepted the ball in the center of the field, elegantly walked past the Czech players and made a pass to the right flank to the attacker Kerzhakov. Alexander immediately hit the opponent's goal. The sports projectile hit the crossbar and bounced on Alan, who moved to the penalty area in time. Cech was forced to take the ball out of his own goal, the score was 1: 0.
After this episode, our players got the opportunity to play more on counterattacks, to break into free zones in the opponent's half of the field. Roman Shirokov made good use of this after Arshavin's transfer, setting the final score of the first half at the 25th minute of the meeting - 2: 0.
The beginning of the second half was reminiscent of the first minutes of the match - the Czechs were more active, but now this was already required by the course of the meeting. The footballers of the Russian national team pressed against their gates, which the opponent skillfully took advantage of. Long-distance transfer of the ball left Malafeev almost alone with Vaclav Pilarzh, who did not miss his chance to score a goal. The score became 2: 1, the comfortable advantage of the Russians disappeared, and the Czech national team was inspired.
Closer to the final quarter of the match, the players of both teams began to get tired. The Czech national team, having achieved nothing more, slowed down. In addition, Dick Advocaat guessed right with a replacement, releasing Pavlyuchenko instead of Kerzhakov. Soon Roman became the author of an assist for Dzagoev, who scored a double.
Three minutes later Pavlyuchenko was able to distinguish himself, thanks to individual actions, scoring a beautiful goal. At the 85th minute, another substitution was made, which made it possible for Kokorin to enter the field. The score 4: 1 fully reflected the balance of power on the football field.
