Russia’s football coach, Dick Advocaat, has named his 20-man squad for the friendly against Greece, with only one new face in the lineup.
Dynamo Moscow forward Aleksandr Kokorin is caped for Russia for the first time in his career to replace injured striker Aleksander Kerzhakov from Zenit Saint Petersburg.
The 20-year-old has shown superb form for the Russian U21s squad in their qualification for Euro 2013, scoring five goals in just three games.
The Russians will face Greece on November 11 in Piraeus, with the footballers gathering two days before the match.
Advocaat’s choice:
Goalkeepers: Vyacheslav Malafeev (Zenit St. Peterburg), Anton Shunin (Dynamo Moscow);
Defenders: Aleksandr Anyukov (Zenit), Aleksey Berezutsky, Vasily Berezutsky, Sergey Ignashevich (all –CSKA Moscow), Roman Shishkin (Lokomotiv Moscow);
Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Everton), Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Denisov, Roman Shirokov, Konstantin Ziryanov (all – Zenit), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA), Aleksandr Samedov, Igor Semshov (both Dynamo), Yury Zhirkov (Anzhi);
Forwards: Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal), Aleksandr Kokorin (Dynamo Moscow), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Tottenham Hotspur), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Stuttgart).
The match in Greece is Russia’s first step towards preparing for next summer’s Euro 2012.
Advocaat’s men progressed to the tournament from first place in their qualifying Group B, leaving main rivals – Ireland – to make their way to Poland and Ukraine through playoffs.