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Brazil without Thiagus, Atman and Gorbok questionable for the Russians

Russia and Brazil will decide the final positions in the A group today. Anything is possible, so the final draw will be known only after the game between Spain and Slovenia

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Russia beat Poland and confirmed passing through, so this match against Brazil will decide the third place of the group. They still won't know their opponents in the round of 16 because Slovenia and Spain are deciding the first place of B group after their game. 

So, the winner of this game will face the loser of that duel in the B group. Also, a tie would work for the Spaniards to confirm the first place. It's impossible to calculate anything upfront (because of the time difference between the two games), so we can expect everyone to give their best.

Russia played the last match against the hosts, France, and deserved to lose. The French were leading from the beginning, and were up by five goals after the first half. The backcourt took most of the burden, Zhitnikov-Atman-Shelmenko, since Gorbok only played three minutes due to his injury.

The French only increased the advantage in the second half, and won 35-24 in the end. Atman's injury (ankle) means even more problems for Russia. He sat out the last 20 minutes, and it remains to be seen how well he'll feel today. Shishkaryov was the best with 6/9, Kovalev had 4/4 from the seven-meter shots, and no time spent playing, and Zhitnikov added 4 (4/7).

- We were good offensively in the first half, but the goalies were bad, it just wasn't their day. It's no tragedy to lose to a match better opponent, the match against Brazil is important to us, the fight for the third place - Torgovanov analyzed the game. He couldn't have expected a better result considering that Bogdanov and Kireev only had seven saves total, definitely not enough when you want to beat the French at their turf.

Atman and Gorbok's injuries are a big problem before facing Brazil, because if they stay out, Torgovanov loses a lot offensively. Neither did the last practice before Brazil, and we don't know if they're going to play:

- Unfortunately, we have problems with the injured players. Gorbok's been struggling before, and Atman twisted his ankle against France, so his state is questionable. It's too early to say anything, we'll decide about them playing before the game, but I hope they'll be able to play. Their absences would be a big handicap for us - Torgovanov complained.

He also commented on their opponent:

- We're focused on the game against Brazil, that's a very important game for the third place. They're very tricky, like Japan, because they don't play the typical European style. They've got a good defense that could be a big problem for us because we're not used to playing against the deep zones, so we have to play it right. The Norwegians crushed them with the top defense that helped them score easy fast break goals. We'll try something similar.

Brazil also confirmed going to the round of 16 by beating Poland and Japan. True, the match against Japan proved to be fatal because their captain and defense leader Thiagus dos Santos got injured. He injured his leg tendon, and according to the latest info, the championship is over for him. Leonardo Dutra was called to replace him.

After the match against Japan, the draw made them play Norway, and they lost convincingly. Norway played a great defense that allowed them a lot of easy fast break goals. Norway was in the lead after the first half, 18-13, and only continued to increase that advantage in the second half, ending at 39-26. 

Unexpectedly, Brazil struggled getting back to the defense against the fast Norwegians who used their chances to the fullest. In Brazil, Chiuffa was the best with 6/6 (the best with seven-meter shots, 3/3), and Pozzer with 6/7. The back shooters Toledo and Langaro failed with 3/9 and 3/11. 

- We had a bad start, really struggled with their fast backs in the first half, and we didn't go back to the defense well. Things didn't get better in the second half, we really struggled against their speed - Nunes analyzed after the game.

Today, they play a big match against Russia, fighting for the third place:

- It's going to be a tough game, they're a very good team. After playing Norway, we worked a lot on practicing the defense because that's where we failed. They've got tall and strong players, so I think we can give them a very hard time with our 5-1 zone that worked great in this championship - Joao da Silva said and added:

- Thiagus's absence is a problem, but we have to go on without him. We corrected some things at the practice and I think we can still play very good defense even without him, and that defense will be the key in this match.

These two opponents played two games in 2013 (one World Championship, one friendly), and Russia won in both, but with a minimum difference. Considering how important this game is, it's expected to be intense till the very end.