Russia head coach Stanislav Cherchesov has extended his contract with the Russian football team. He will be Russia’s head coach for the next two years with an option to extend it to another two years.
Cherchesov became Russia’s manager in August 2016 after the resignation of Leonid Slutsky following Russia’s disastrous outing at Euro 2016. He took Russia to the quarter-finals of the 2018 World Cup, defeating 2010 winners Spain in the process.
Russia exceeded expectations at the tournament where they went as the lowest ranked team. Many ruled out the possibility of Russia failing to qualify from their group but the hosts thrashed Saudi Arabia and Egypt 5-0 and 3-1 respectively. They lost to Uruguay which set up a last 16 encounter with Spain. Russia conceded first through an own goal but equalized through a penalty from Artem Dzyuba. Russia prevailed on penalties thanks to two fine saves from captain Igor Akinfeev. The hosts fairy-tale came to an end after they lost to eventual runners-up Croatia on penalties.
The Russian Football Federation thanked Cherchesov for his contributions to the Russian football team. Aleksandr Alaev, acting President of the Russian Football Federation said, “Stanislav Cherchesov and his team have the complete trust of the federation. We anticipate bright victories and significant achievements ahead for the Russian team.”
Tomorrow, President Vladimir Putin will host a ceremony where he will award the national team players and other personnel.
