"Our referees should take an example from the referees of the 2026 World Cup"

Andrey Arshavin travels a lot around the world now. In the last month alone, he managed to see PSG win the Champions League final, Arsenal's championship parade and the start of the 2026 World Cup in Mexico and the USA. In Mexico City, Arshavin rocked up with fans, in Miami he met with Kirill Kombarov, and in Kansas, in the company of former Krasnodar striker Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov, Leo Messi scored a hat-trick.

After returning to Moscow, the former Zenit, Arsenal and Russian national team player told SE and Izvestia about his impressions of the World Cup and helped them look at the tournament through the eyes of a man who has seen world football in all its forms in recent weeks.

"Uzbekistan fans chanted my last name"

— Andrey Sergeevich, you had a long trip to the World Cup. What are your impressions?

— The most striking thing was going to the podium to the fans of Uzbekistan during the match with Colombia. First of all, it was very loud there in general: drums, songs. And secondly, they were chanting my last name, singing songs of "Leningrad". That's what I remember the most.

— And what was the highlight in terms of football?

— No one has made a strong impression yet - the teams are still involved in the tournament. The leaders understand that even the third place comes out of the group. I won't say that they don't strain themselves, but they also don't try to squeeze out the maximum.

I liked the USA team — I was at their match. I also liked Germany. I didn't watch the England–Croatia match, but they tell me it was a good game. I also remember the fans of Mexico and Colombia!

— You have been to Mexico and several cities in the USA. Where is the best atmosphere?

"In Mexico City." The Mexicans won the first match, and we went to watch the fans celebrate. This is a big event, and if not the entire nation, then most of it has taken to the streets. Everyone climbed the monuments, jumped into the fountains. It was bright.

In the USA, it felt more bland. In the cities I visited, there was nothing like the World Cup before or after the games. Advertising only. There was a big difference in the feeling of the tournament in the USA and Mexico.

— Kirill Kombarov said that Miami doesn't have the atmosphere of a big tournament at all.

"That's right. Not in Los Angeles, not in Las Vegas— nothing. In general, we saw more Carolina and Vegas hockey jerseys in Las Vegas. There was a feeling that the Stanley Cup had become a bigger and more important event there than the World Cup.

— The World Cup is criticized a lot: for the high prices, the atmosphere and even the infrastructure. On business?

— According to the organization, the entrance to the stadium is simple, we have not encountered any difficulties anywhere. In terms of occupancy, there is a cue ball everywhere. In the city where Argentina was playing, out of 10 fans there was only one with a ticket. The excitement is great! Although the prices for an ordinary person are depressing. At the same time, I have not seen any problems with occupancy anywhere. By the way, the stadium shows are fantastic! And from what I've seen, it's a sin to complain about the organization.

The only problem was leaving the stadium in Kansas, where Shapi and I were staying. There is only one road to the arena — Shapi told us that this is normal. Not only during the World Cup. In general, I would be happy to criticize FIFA myself, but based on personal experience, there is nothing for it.

The first pancake with a goal: Uzbekistan debuted at the World Cup with a defeat against Colombia

CSKA midfielder Abbosbek Fayzullayev scored a historic goal for the country

"Ronaldo is more of a problem for the Portuguese national team"

— Are there any teams that have already disappointed?

— There is a feeling of hopelessness coming from Tunisia. Their national team always gets to the World Championships, but this time it seemed that they had assembled the team in 24 hours. And they were guided by logic: whoever arrives at the airport will play. No organization, no desire — Tunisia looks helpless.

The Curacao national team lost to Germany 1:7, Haiti lost to Brazil 0:3 — but it is clear that the guys are trained, there is discipline. Tunisia... people came to the World Cup, and it's like they're being forced to play. For me, they are the main disappointment.

The rest of the national teams, even losing heavily, try to show their maximum. It is clear that not everyone has enough skill. But they make some kind of impression.

— There is a lot of talk around Portugal about the conflict between Ronaldo and the young players. Can this affect the result?

— I couldn't watch the game with DR Congo itself, I can only rely on general impressions and opinions of other people. In general, even before the start of the championship, there was an understanding that Cristiano was more of a problem for the Portuguese national team. If you look at the names, the team there is no worse than that of the French and Spaniards. But Ronaldo's role is so big, and his effectiveness as a central striker is low. There was a feeling that this could affect the game and the result. It was obvious in the match against DR Congo.

But everything can change — it depends on the coach and Ronaldo himself. Maybe he should understand that, unfortunately, he is no longer able to give more than other players. They have Bruno Fernandes, Vitinha, Neves in their squad — these are the people who have won everything in the last few years. They should take the lead.

— In the group with Portugal, Uzbekistan — do you believe that it will reach the playoffs?

— The most important match for them is against DR Congo. In my opinion, Uzbekistan can beat them, they are not inferior in class. Colombia and Portugal look much stronger, but it was clear before the World Cup. In general, Colombia was highly valued for me, and they confirmed this on the field, everything is natural. But Uzbekistan is ready to compete for the third place.

— There was a lot of talk about referees, we discussed episodes with Messi's foul, with the lack of a penalty after Mbappe's fall. How do you like the judging?

— Everyone says that Messi should have been shown a red card, but during the game I didn't notice it at all. I haven't seen the moment with Mbappe. But I have a good impression of refereeing. In one of the matches of the national team of Paraguay, the referee waved his hands the whole game, like a conductor. He seemed to be judging a little in a collective farm way. He gave Almiron a red card for an episode in which no one had ever been sent off before (Miguel Almiron, during a scuffle with the Turkish national team, spoke to Mert Muldur with his hand covered. — Ed.). But everything is according to the rules.

The judging is excellent. There are no mini-thrusts or punches, especially in the penalty area. I'm sure if this had happened in the Russian championship, we would have watched video replays, taken screenshots, taken penalties, and then said that everything was right. There is no such thing at the World Cup. It is surprising that there are practically no hits of the ball in the hands, there are no controversial episodes. Maybe the players are technically correct. But the fact is, there are no such moments.

The work of referees at the World Cup is almost a benchmark. After watching the matches of the tournament, our referees should take this as an example and act in the same spirit.

Calm as an Undave: the striker saved Germany from failure in the match with Ivory Coast

Which teams reached the 2026 World Cup playoffs and what else was memorable about the second week of the tournament?

"Logistics killed me"

— You had a lot of flights, several countries, constant filming. Is it hard in such a schedule?

— It was a tough trip, to be honest. We went to the USA to catch Alexander Ovechkin's 1,000th goal, although we couldn't see it. Then we changed cities, but they were all on the East Coast, flights took 2.5 hours, everything was in working order. At the World Cup, I was blown away by the first flight to Mexico — I never thought it would be so far away. 14 hours in the sky! And then we flew for five hours back and forth along the West Coast — it was hard. Plus, you're not sleeping, and the time difference between Russia and the United States is affecting you. Flights and logistics are really difficult.

On the way back from Mexico, the plane makes another stop in Cancun, which takes 16 hours. It's good that there are match broadcasts in flight, I've watched four games in a row. But after all the matches, there was still almost three hours to fly — it was a little depressing. Thank God, we managed to take off and land without delay. In fact, the flight took 24 hours, if not more. When I returned to Russia, I think I was the happiest person in Vnukovo.

— Are you ready to repeat such a trip in the future?

— I no longer have the desire to fly to Mexico. Even on vacation! I would like to visit the East coast of the USA again, but I don't want to fly to the west.…

— You attended the Champions League final, then immediately went to the World Cup. Are you tired of football yet?

— After returning to Russia, I immediately watched the UFL U16 match, where Zenit, unfortunately, lost to Spartak (2:4). Then I watched the UFL U15 game: Zenit beat Chertanovo (5:1). It's easy for me, I love different kinds of football. If there were no crossings, it would be a beauty in general. But this time the logistics killed me.