Alexander Kokorin
Alexander Kokorin
It would be no surprise if most fans outside of Russia had not heard of Dynamo Moscow forward Alexander Kokorin, 23, but that is likely to change by the end of the tournament.
Kokorin, who has a vague resemblance to the Canadian pop-star Justin Bieber, started his career in his home town of Valuyki, about 800 kilometres south of Moscow.
Kokorin had been seen as the great hope in Russian football since he was a teenager and the hype only increased when he scored on his Dynamo debut at the age of 17.
Now 23, he was named as Russian young player of the year in 2011 and continued his rapid progress by earning a call-up to the national team for Euro 2012.
Opportunities were few with Dick Advocaat at the helm, but that changed when Capello took over.
The Italian brought out the best in the Russian forward who has scored five goals in 19 appearances, including Russia's fastest goal, after only 19 seconds against Luxembourg.
Kokorin plays as a second striker for his club, but Capello has used him on the left flank where he has developed a good understanding with Alexander Kerzhakov.