<!--Article Start--> <h2 style="text-align: justify"><strong><em>The Russians were beaten in Moscow after Marc Janko's first-half strike, which leaves Russia third, eight points adrift of Austria at the top of the group.</em></strong></h2> <p style="text-align: justify">With just 8 points from their 6 qualifying matches so far, Russia face a battle to qualify as they trail second-placed Sweden by four points with only the top two going to the finals automatically.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"It's a dead end for the national squad," Sport Express' front page headline declared after Russia suffered their second defeat in as many meetings with Austria in their qualifying campaign.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"Our national team's performance is a disgrace, nothing else," the newspaper quoted Sergei Ivanov, the head of the Russian president's administration, as saying following Sunday's encounter.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"It's high time to start looking for those millions," said the headline of Sport Express' match report, a reference to the huge sum needed to buy Capello out of his contract.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"I'm very upset like the millions of Russia's football lovers, who for the umpteenth time failed to receive either a glittering performance or just the acceptable result from our national side," Russia's former national manager Oleg Romantsev commented.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">The newspaper has also published an interview with Russia's Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who led the initiative to bring Capello to Russia in the first place.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"We'll bring back our team's soul, I promise," said the minister, who is currently considering his return to the chair as Russia's Football Union (RFU) chief after Nikolai Tolstykh stepped down from the post last month.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"Capello created the chicken-hearted team," said former Spartak Moscow great and Soviet international defender Yevgeny Lovchev, as quoted by another Russian daily, Soviet Sport.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">"The team, which he (Capello) took over in 2012, was stronger than his current squad. It's the true index of his coaching work."</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Last year Capello, who is reportedly the world's highest paid coach, signed a lucrative new contract to stay in the job through to the end of the 2018 World Cup, which Russia will host.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">But after Russia were knocked out at the group stage of last year's World Cup in Brazil without winning a game, the 68-year-old coach was widely criticised, and only the backing of the country's sports minister Mutko prevented the former England manager from losing his job.</p> . <p style="text-align: justify">Capello was involved in a six-month long pay dispute with the RFU before billionaire Alisher Usmanov, a shareholder at English Premier League club Arsenal, stepped in to settle 400 million roubles ($5.8 million at the time) in unpaid wages in February.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Russia have just two wins to their name in qualifying so far -- a 4-0 win at home to Liechtenstein last September before being awarded a 3-0 victory from the abandoned clash against Montenegro in Podgorica in March.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">They have been held at home by minnows Moldova and suffered those two defeats to Austria.</p> <p style="text-align: justify">Russia's next qualifier is a potentially decisive fixture at home to Sweden on September 5 with a trip to Liechtenstein following just three days later.</p> <p style="text-align: justify"></p>