Russia head coach Stanislav Cherchesov said on Monday the level of his team's previous opponents was not high enough compared to Uruguay, who beat Russia 3-0 in their final Group A match on Monday.
Russia suffered their first defeat at the tournament, but had previously won their first two matches, as they thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-1 and beat Egypt 3-1.
While Saudi Arabia and Egypt are among the lowest ranking teams at the tournament sitting 67th and 45th in the FIFA World ranking respectively, Uruguay are 14th.
"Yesterday we dedicated 20 minutes to set pieces. And today we conceded all our goals after set pieces. Every team has its strong sides. We knew that and focused on it but didn't manage to prevent it. In our last matches, we did not give any chances to our opponents. But we have to be objective, the level of our previous opponents was not high enough," Cherchesov told journalists.
Russia's first defeat at the tournament saw them drop to the second place in their group meaning they will face the Group B winner in their round of 16 match.
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