Russia: players welcomed as heroes in Moscow – CM 2018

CM 2018
            

RUS

Published on Sunday, July 8, 2018 at 17:18

The Russian players, eliminated from the World Cup by Croatia, were welcomed as heroes in Moscow.

The players of the Russian team, eliminated from the 2018 World Cup after a defeat on penalties against Croatia (2-2, 3-4 on the tab), were comforted Sunday in Moscow by the ovations thousands of fans came to thank them for an unexpected performance.
        

Coach Stanislav Tchertchessov led his players on stage under a blazing sun in the capital's fan-zone, thanking the audience for supporting a team that nobody was waiting for.
        

"You were not the 12th player. You were the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th players. We felt your support from the first second " launched the coach in front of the crowd of supporters and a sea of ​​Russian flags.
        

"Tears of defeat and tears of joy"
                                    

Russian President Vladimir Putin invited Chherchessov to the Kremlin and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev went to the locker room to thank the players after the match on Saturday night. The Russian players, who seemed inconsolable the day before, seemed comforted by their triumphal welcome in Moscow on Sunday.
        

"I am so happy to be a Russian citizen. No other team has fans like that! " launched Fyodor Smolov, who received a long standing ovation despite his penalty shoot-out. Denis Cherichev dedicated his four goals in the competition to "whole country" . "Of course, we wanted to go further" he regretted before thanking the fans.
        

"Yesterday there were tears. I had it and the guys too. Tears of defeat and tears of joy " said defender Sergei Ignashevitch, who announced the end of his playing career the same day.
        

With AFP