Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, in eight days
Russia will play three matches between 29 September and 6 October, and none of them count for anything. Iran in Kazan first. Namibia in Yekaterinburg four days later. Nigeria in Nizhny Novgorod on the sixth.
Two of the players making those trips earn their living in Ligue 1.
The Russian Football Union named its squad this week for a camp opening on 21 September. Matvey Safonov is in it. The Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper is one of four keepers called up, along with Anton Mitryushkin, Stanislav Agkatsev and Alexander Maksimenko.
So is Aleksandr Golovin. The Monaco midfielder joins a crowded group in the middle: Aleksey Miranchuk, Ivan Oblyakov, Nail Umyarov, Aleksey Batrakov, Kirill Glebov. The forward line is Konstantin Tyukavin, Dmitry Vorobyov and Aleksandr Sobolev.
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Friendlies are all that is left
Russia are still shut out of FIFA and UEFA competition, which is why the calendar looks like this. The opponents follow the template of every window since the ban: nations from outside Europe, willing to travel, playing for nothing but minutes.
Three venues, three time zones, no qualification at stake.
What it costs Monaco and PSG
Golovin has been at Monaco since 2018 and remains one of the longest-serving players in the squad, a rare link back to the pre-2018 World Cup side. Losing him for a fortnight of friendlies is not nothing for a club in the middle of a season.
Safonov’s case is different. He arrived at PSG in the summer of 2024 and the call-up hands him competitive minutes his club role does not always supply.
Both fly back to France in the second week of October, after three domestic flights across a country nine time zones wide.
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