Lacking Key Players, Russians Are Longshots

After resolving a bitter team squabble that appeared to doom its World Cup prospects, Russia may be ready to surprise some teams. At least that is the way the cautiously optimistic Russians view it. Four key players are still missing from the 14 rebels who boycotted the national team, demanding higher pay and the ouster of coach Pavel Sadyrin. The absence of Andrei Kanchelskis, Sergei Kiryakov, Igor Kolyvanov and Igor Shalimov will hurt. Kanchelskis was a standout player during Manchester United's league and cup double triumph in England. Still, enough players ended their mutiny to give Russia a reasonable chance to advance to the second round, perhaps further if everything falls into place. "If we win the World Cup it will be a miracle on the scale of flying saucers," Sadyrin said after naming his final 22-man roster. "But we can end the tournament among the strongest teams." Even without the missing veterans, Russia has a team anchored by a budding international star, 20-year-old Vladimir Beschastnykh, of Spartak Moscow, and a pair of top-notch goalkeepers -- Dmitry Kharine and Stanislav Cherchesov. After coming down with tonsillitis, Beschastnykh has been house-bound for three days, assistant coach Boris Ignatyev told the Sport Express newspaper on Tuesday.This will be Russia's first appearance at the World Cup, although Russians dominated the Soviet lineup for years. After placing an all-time-best fourth in 1966 and making the quarterfinals in 1970, the Soviets spent years trying unsuccessfully to regain the upper tier. They failed to qualify in 1974 and 1978, then reached the second round in 1982 and 1986 before failing to make it out of the first round in 1990 -- a big letdown after their runner-up finish in the 1988 European Championship. "At the peak of last winter's conflict between players and the leadership of the national federation, many had a pessimistic view of Russia's prospects at the World Cup," said Ignatyev. "Now," he said, "there emerge hopes that we will be able to advance to the second round." But first, they must face powerhouse Brazil in their first round match set for June 20 at Stanford Stadium in Palo Alto, California.(AP, Reuters)