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Capello rues lost Russia concentration

Tuesday, March 26, 2013 by Goal.com

After conceding a last-gasp equaliser against the Selecao at Stamford Bridge, the Italian admitted that his side let their guard down in the later stages of the game

Russia coach Fabio Capello has admitted his side were left to rue losing their concentration in stoppage time in their 1-1 draw with Brazil on Monday night.

The Selecao have never lost to the European nation but came perilously close before Fred's 90th-minute equaliser which cancelled out Viktor Fayzulin's opener midway through the second half.

"The players lost their concentration, lost their position, and against Brazil you cannot lose your concentration," Capello told reporters after the friendly.

"The friendly game for me is very important because I want to find different solutions.

"Barcelona play without a forward, but they have [Lionel] Messi. We have other players. [Roman] Pavlyuchenko is a good player but I chose to select other players today.

"I think it will be hard to beat Brazil in Brazil, they have a good team," he said.

Former Russia captain Yuri Zhirkov limped off after pulling a hamstring as a second-half substitute on his return to Stamford Bridge, after Capello chose to leave the Anzhi Makhachkala man on the bench.

"I know Zhirkov [used to play here] but I decided to only play him in the second half, which I told him before the game," he said.

When asked about the similarities between his current managerial position and his previous job for the England national team, Capello stayed focused on his goal to reach World Cup 2014 with Russia.

"It is different for two reasons. Because the Russian Premier League stops for three months during the winter, and the language is difficult," he said.

"But I am happy because we can do something very important for Russia and the target for us is to play the World Cup in Brazil."

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