Loss of fallout for Russia means uphill against Finland

– We hope very much. But it will be difficult. Belgium has a very good team, says Yevgeny Simchakin.

He walks over the footbridge, which connects Krestovsky Lake with the mainland. On the island’s headland is the giant Gazprom Stadium, completed in 2017 and one of Europe’s most modern. It also cost seven times more than planned and has become a symbol of the Putin regime’s corruption.

Over the bridge in the balmy June evening, Russian and Belgian fans stream side by side. They photograph themselves together and change shirts. Yevgeny and his friends have adorned themselves with both white-blue-red Russian flags and the blue-white-green flag of the Komi Republic.

They are happy – they have traveled a long way to see Russia play in the European Championships.

– We have come all the way from the Komi Republic up north. We drove 1,600 kilometers by car to St. Petersburg. It took 22 hours. It’s great to be here, although of course I’m aware that the Belgians are playing on a different level. They have much more skilled players than us, states Aleksandr Mazakov.

He hopefully adds:

– But the fact is that sometimes it can mean miracles when you really give everything. Like in 2018, when Russia played in the World Cup and moved on from the group stage, which no one had thought. We hope for a miracle this time too.

Like many Russian sports journalists, Mazakov believes that Russia has a chance to finish second in the group. That would mean moving on to the quarterfinals.

– Belgium will probably win the group, but we hope for second place. It all depends on how the match between Finland and Denmark goes. Thank goodness Eriksen is alive. We are very happy about that.

Despite the humble Russian attitude before the match, the Belgians I meet do not want to take the victory in advance.

– The chances are 50-50. Russia will fight like an animal. And two of our best players are injured, says Fabrice.

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His friend Frédéric Sabatier dares to be more optimistic.

– I think we will win, but it will be a fight. Russia has a good team and we have injured. But I think it’s going to work out.

Inside the stadium, the stands are almost exactly half-filled. According to official information, 26,264 will follow the match on site. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000, but can only be filled to half due to the covid restrictions.

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Before the judge blows up the match, the Belgian players fall to their knees, in solidarity with the Black lives matter movement. The Russian audience bows to them so it thunders. Ahead of the match, Duma members Alexei Pushkov announced on Twitter that the Russian team has no reason to follow the Belgians’ example.

https://twitter.com/Alexey_Pushkov/status/1403758630525153284

– We have nothing to regret and nothing to apologize for, either by BLM, the African Americans or the Africans, for whom we actively assisted during the Soviet era. If the descendants of the slave owners want to show remorse, they can do so, Pushkov writes.

The match itself begins the Russian team offensively. Belgium still has much more of the game, and they put 1-0 already in the eleventh minute after a thunderous miss in the Russian defense when one of the defenders releases the ball between the legs. Romelu Lukaku who scores the goal dedicates it to his friend, the Danish superstar Christian Eriksen, who signed on the pitch in Copenhagen earlier in the evening, but then regained consciousness.

– Chris, I love you, he says into the TV cameras.

Russia continues to press, but in ten minutes before half time Belgium makes it 2-0 after the Russian goalkeeper Anton Sjunin boxes the ball straight at the Belgian player Thomas Meunier.

In the second half, the Russians make some really dangerous attacks, but fail in the closing stages. When Belgium puts a safe 3-0, the match is over.

The same night, Finland wins 1-0 after an inhuman effort over Denmark. For Russia, that means problems. Now the competition for second place in the group is intensifying.

Meanwhile, Russian opposition politician Maksim Gonalsky reports that he will not be admitted to the stadium, despite having tickets to the match. It is the security service that has banned it.

https://twitter.com/MaximGongalsky/status/1403791722736500737

– I guess they will not let me in because I have participated in Navalny’s protests. If you do not support Putin, then you can no longer cheer on the Russian national team, Maksim Gonalsky writes on Twitter. He is a member of the opposition Jabloko party.

On Russian-language Twitter, the question is now being asked whether Uefa intends to allow authoritarian regimes not to let oppositionists into the European Championships.

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