Match Report
Russia went into the game 7th in the table on 10 points; Argentina sat 9th on 9 — a 1-point gap. Russia ranked just 35th in the league on five-round form despite their 7th table position. Per game in the league, Russia were scoring 2.75 and conceding 2.38, Argentina 4.25 and 1, against a competition average of 2.26 goals per team per game.
Argentina's winless run stood at 5. The five-game form split read 7/15 points for Russia against 1/15 for Argentina.
The venue was Stadion Oktyabr', with room for 81,000 spectators. Half-time and full-time told different stories: it was 0-0 at the break, before 1 more goal closed it at 0-1.
Goal scorers
Argentina: Sergio Agüero (86')
Key stats
Possession: Russia 33% · Argentina 67% · Total shots: 3-13 · On target: 1-8 · Corners: 2-8