Vice president of Russian football union (RFU) Nikita Simonyan told Soviet Sport newspaper that Russia will win Armenia only when each of Russian players shows his best play.

“I would not throw words into the air that we [Russians] must win Armenians. Not words but actions are needed. Armenians are very good at handling with the ball. However, Russia is strong on collectivity and quality play,” told Simonyan. “During the first game, we [Russians] put only 75 percent of potential ability into the game.”