“We made a series of tactical and individual mistakes in this match. There’s a room for improvement. Personally, I see it as a failure, rather than a success. Every goal is a result of an opponent’s mistake… I think we played better with four defenders. [When we] switched to five, things went downhill,” Zobnin said.

The World Cup will be held in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15. Russia will play Saudi Arabia in the opening match at the Luzhniki Stadium, while the two countries are joined in Group A by Egypt and Uruguay.