Although coach Guus Hiddink decided to cancel morning training, a vigorous evening session gave spectators an indication to Russia’s lineup ahead of their opening UEFA EURO 2008 fixture. 
Training match
The squad split into two teams at Russia’s base in Leogang and played a training match which seemed to pit a possible starting XI against other members of the group. Following the 45-minute game, which was played in very wet conditions, Igor Semshov explained that it had been an intense work-out despite the risks of picking up an injury on the slippery surface. "If you don’t commit, you are more likely to get injured," the FC Dinamo Moskva midfielder said. "The coaches have asked us to go slightly easier on each other, but football isn’t football without challenges and we should also work on practising these things in training." Despite the weather, Semshov insisted it made a nice change. "To be honest, it’s better without the rain but I don’t mind it this way – the natural smell is better than the pollution created by Moscow’s cars."

Sour note
The only sour note of the training session was when Pavel Pogrebnyak, set to rejoin the group despite his meniscus tear, took to the pitch only to limp back off soon after. The striker returned to the hotel straight away after experiencing more pain with the problem. However, Semshov said the squad as a whole could not wait to face Spain on 10 June: "We’d like to start as soon as possible, because we’ve now been training for three weeks. There are always nerves before the start and those who haven’t got them probably don’t care enough."
Bilyaletdinov ambition
While Semshov is predicted to link up with Konstantin Zyryanov and Sergei Semak in central midfield, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, together with his FC Lokomotiv Moskva team-mate Dmitri Sychev, are likely to take up position just behind lone front man Roman Pavlyuchenko. Bilyaletdinov declined to confirm if tonight’s team selections meant anything significant, saying: "Ask the coach. It could be a sign of things to come, or maybe not." However, the 23-year-old did reveal the extent of his ambitions for the tournament by adding: "We hope to go home on 30 June."

FC Spartak Moskva striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has insisted he is “flying” ahead of Russia’s UEFA EURO 2008 curtain-raiser against Spain.

Possible match-winner
The 26-year-old striker played an instrumental role in his country’s qualifying campaign, with his double strike as a substitute in the 2-1 win over England in October all but clinching Russia’s place at the finals. Pavlyuchenko and his international team-mates yesterday had their first work-out at their tournament base at Leogang, aimed at soothing tired limbs after an intense preparation programme over the past two weeks.

Worthwhile sacrifice
Pavlyuchenko, for one, is adamant the fitness regime demanded by coach Guus Hiddink will pay dividends when his side kick off their campaign against Group D favourites Spain on Tuesday evening. “I feel very physically fit,” said the former FC Rotor Volgograd frontman. “To be honest, I was crawling just a week ago and now you could say I’m flying. My muscles are so big that I can’t even fit into my shirt - I’ll have to wear an XXL size!”

Tough schedule
Hiddink and his coaching staff aim to have each of their players hitting peak condition going into the clash with Luis Aragonés‘ men, and with a final friendly win over Lithuania out of the way, the focus is firmly on getting off to the best possible start in a tough section. Some light jogging and keep-ball exercises were carried out in front of an enthusiastic local crowd in the Austrian tourist spot. Midfielder Sergei Semak emerged from the session weary, but satisfied. “The German training camp is over and it seems we’re a bit tired,” admitted the FC Rubin Kazan veteran. “We lacked a bit of energy [against Lithuania] but the results of these friendly games are not that important. The main thing is to make sure our physical condition is improving. I felt yesterday that it was a bit worse than in the previous match [against Serbia], but this is normal because the workload did not decrease. We must go into the game with Spain in top form.” 

Pay the penalty
The drizzle that fell between the surrounding mountains and down onto the pitch turned into a downpour as the players trudged off towards their team bus. FC Lokomotiv Moskva’s Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, who failed to convert a penalty in the 4-1 win over Lithuania, spoke of the possible consequences of his missing that spot kick. “Maybe they will pick another penalty taker,” he said. “But I won’t decline if offered. If they trust me, I will take it - no problem. I scored four times in the first half of the Russian league from the spot and I think it’s better to miss now than in the tournament.”

Roman Anatolevich Pavlyuchenko (Russian: Роман Анатольевич Павлюченко) (born December 15, 1981 in Stavropol) is a Russian footballer. He plays in the position of a central forward for Spartak Moscow and the Russian national team. He made his first team debut at FC Dynamo Stavropol in 1999 then moved to Rotor Volgograd in 2000 where he stayed for three years before moving to Spartak Moscow FC in winter 2003. Since then, Roman has been the most prolific goalscorer for the club. Roman’s goalscoring together with his loyalty to the “rhombik” (the club’s emblem) earned him a lot of respect and appreciation from the Army of Red-White Fans.

In 2005 Roman was first called into the Russian national team and since then has been consistently earning caps at the national level. Pavluchenko reached the height of his popularity coming on as a sub in the vital home game against England turning the game upside down by scoring 2 priceless goals one from the spot kick for Wayne Rooney’s foul on Konstantin Zyrianov and the other from a combination of a decent enough shot by Alexey Berezutskyi, poor goalkeeping from Paul Robinson and Rio Ferdinand’s lapse in concentration. The 2-1 win and Croatia’s 3-2 victory over England at Wembley soon after saw Russia through to Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Pavlyuchenko was named in Guus Hiddink’s 23 man sqauad for the tournament which begins in June.

Honours

• 2003 Russian Cup
• 2006 Russian Premier League top goalscorer (18 goals in 27 matches)
• 2007 Russian Premier League joint top goalscorer (14 goals in 22 matches)