Igor Akinfeev, who was hailed as Russia’s best goalkeeper in the 2010s but became the butt of jokes when he missed Lee Kun-Ho’s shot at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, recalled the situation nearly a decade later.
“I felt like people were going to kick me and trample on me,” he recalled, adding that it was a very difficult goal to recover from.
“The most difficult moment of my career was the World Cup in Brazil,” Akinfeev recalled, according to Russian media outlet Le Championnat on July 27. “When I missed such a shot against South Korea and was lying in the goal, I realized that people were going to trample me, beat me, and destroy me.”
South Korea and Russia met in the first match of Group G at the World Cup in Brazil. After a 0-0 first half, South Korea scored first when substitute Lee Geun-ho drove in from the halfway line in the 23rd minute and fired a right-footed shot from the right side of the arc that Akinfeev tried to catch with two hands and missed, sending the ball rebounding back into the goal. Akinfeyev turned around and tried to catch the ball again, but missed again. The ball had already crossed the goal line and become a goal.
As Lee raised his arms in celebration, Akinfeev lay in the goal and covered his face with his gloved hands in self-pity. Luckily for Russia, Alexander Kerzhakov equalized six minutes later in the 29th minute to make it 1-1, but the concession against South Korea proved fatal and they also lost to Algeria to advance to the round of 16.
“Usually I forget about it in two or three days, but at the World Cup in Brazil it lasted a long time,” Akinfeyev said. “I tried not to appear in crowded streets for a month. I realized that I had to work harder psychologically.”
“At the training center, I was lucky to have teammates who understood my mistakes. “My son was born two months before the World Cup in Brazil, so I wasn’t in a position to take a break. I came back and we made it to the quarterfinals of the 2018 World Cup.”
Born in 1986, Akinfeyev is considered one of the best Russian goalkeepers since Jeff Yashin. He has 카지노사이트 been playing for CSKA Moscow since 2003 and is 37 years old. He has played 552 matches in the Russian first division and 111 in the A-match. He was at the center of Russia’s run to the quarterfinals of the 2008 European Championship in Switzerland and Austria.
His most unforgettable nightmare was Lee Geun-ho’s goal against South Korea.