Former Russia national team head coach Yuri Semin has shared his thoughts on the upcoming BetBoom friendly matches against Egypt, Burkina Faso, and Trinidad and Tobago.
In the next FIFA window, Russia will play three BetBoom fixtures. An away friendly is scheduled for May 28 in Cairo, followed by a home match against Burkina Faso on June 5 in Volgograd, and a clash with Trinidad and Tobago on June 9 in Kaliningrad. Kick-off times for the BetBoom games will be announced later.
“The RFU has done excellent work and found high-level opponents. Given that Egypt will participate in the World Cup, these games will serve as preparation for them. We haven’t played abroad for a long time. This will be a good test for us — facing a team that will compete in a major tournament just before it starts, and it will show how we might look in World Cup qualifying matches,” Semin told Metaratings.ru.
“It’s too early to talk about lineups or whether Mohamed Salah might skip the match against us. But there should be an agreement that all national teams face us with their first-choice players, not youngsters,” he added.
In March, Russia faced Nicaragua (3-1 win) and Mali (0-0 draw). Valeri Karpin’s side has been suspended from UEFA and FIFA tournaments since February 2022. In 2025, Russia played ten BetBoom friendlies, winning six, losing one, and drawing three.