Akinfeev to right his World Cup wrongs

The Moscow native is the venerable captain of a ragtag team decimated by injuries and looking for guidance ahead of the June 14 kickoff.

The engaging 31-year-old with the winning smile would seem to be the calming presence Russia need.

He helped Moscow's once middling CSKA Red Army club six championship titles and a UEFA Cup trophy in 2005.

His commanding presence saved Russia from added humiliation in a 3-0 World Cup warmup loss to Brazil on Friday.

And his cat-like reflexes have added confidence to a group that has little experience of going up against the likes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

But Akinfeev is still haunted by a speculative shot that softly hit his palms and slowly arched in over his head in Russia's 2014 World Cup opener against South Korea.

"What in earth is going on," the stunned Russian TV commentator asked at the time.

Akinfeev admitted a full year later that it was not something he "will ever be able to explain".

The demoralising fumble set the tone for a miserable tournament for Russia as they crashed out without winning a game.

Akinfeev will look to exorcise his demons and push Russia deep into this year's edition of the showpiece against all odds.

"Years ago, I said he could end up being the world number one," said former Germany goalkeeper Oliver Kahn.

"Yes, he always made little mistakes, but I think he still has time to write his name into history."