Russian Team Seals Victory Over Iraq Thanks to Miranchuk and Penyaev’s Goals

St. Petersburg, March 26 – The Russian national football team defeated the Iraqi national team in a friendly match.

The meeting, which took place on Sunday at the “Gazprom Arena” stadium in St. Petersburg, ended with a score of 2: 0. Anton Miranchuk (50th minute) and Sergey Benyaev (58th) distinguished themselves in the Russian national team.

In the fourth minute, making up for the second half, Daler Kuzyaev received a red card. For him, this removal was the first time he played for the national team, for which he played 46 matches.

Penyaev became the youngest scorer in the history of the Russian national team. The Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder scored at the age of 18 years, 4 months and 24 days and broke the record of Dmitry Sychev who scored a goal at the age of 18 years, 6 months and 23 days in a friendly match against Yugoslavia on May 19, 2002.

Valery Karpin’s team achieved its first victory since September 24, 2022, breaking a series of three draws.

The first match for the Russian national team was held by the defender of Moscow “Spartak” Daniil Denisov. For the first time, the entire match for the national team was played by goalkeeper Sergey Pesyakov, who played for Rostov.

In February 2022, FIFA and the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) issued a joint statement according to which Russian teams and clubs were suspended from participating in international competitions for an indefinite period due to the events in Ukraine.

At the end of December, the Executive Committee of the Russian Football Union raised the issue of a possible transfer of the organization to the AFC. At the same time, in cooperation with UEFA, it was decided to create a working group aimed at developing a roadmap for the speedy return of Russian teams to international tournaments. On January 24, a working meeting took place between the Russian Federation and UEFA on the relevant topic, and the two parties agreed to continue contacts.