The playmaker required a minor operation and has been following an individual training program, so he didn’t travel to St. Petersburg for the team’s opening game against Russia. Unlike Russia, which plays its first two Group B games in St. Petersburg. Not that playing at home did the Russians any good against Belgium in qualifying for Euro 2020, though. In their next-to-last group game, Russia conceded four goals at home for the first time in a competitive match in losing 4-1, also in St. Petersburg. ___Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Steve Douglas is at https://twitter.com/sdouglas80

Source: thestar June 11, 2021 10:41 UTC