EYESOFTHE WORLD
Fans converge on Russia for World Cup ’18. We preview the 32-team tournament.
Tournament kicks off Thursday as 32 teams begin quest for football supremacy
After years of preparation and buildup, the 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off Thursday, as host Russia takes on Saudi Arabia in Group A. Russia isn’t a popular country these days, so the Putin regime is looking to put on a world-class event.
This opening fixture, though, doesn’t exactly fit the bill. Saudi Arabia is considered one of the weakest of the 32 teams in the competition, while not much is expected of this Russian squad, which some are saying is the worst in the nation’s history.
Russia has had years to prepare its team for this tournament, and the result is widely viewed as a disaster. Russia is winless in seven games and playing terribly.
Coach Stanislav Cherchesov spent two years working with a 5-3-2 formation, but recent injuries at central defence have put that plan in jeopardy. The Russians have had to bring 38-year-old legend Sergei Ignashevich out of retirement, and he’s now a likely starter on defence.
Russia has a lot of good young midfielders, but they don’t seem to play well together. So instead, Cherchesov has been favouring the old guard, with aging veterans Yuri Zhirkov and Aleksandr Samedov on the flanks. The playmaker is Alan Dzagoev, who has been touted for years, but hasn’t always lived up to expectations. It also doesn’t help that Russia’s best holding midfielder, Igor Denisov, has been left off the team in a feud with the coach.
Up front, Fyodor Smolov is a capable striker, but he’s been struggling. Another option is big target man Artem Dzubya. He has a good scoring record even if he looks a bit lumbering.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has a young squad lacking international experience. With the entire team domestically based, the Saudis worked a deal to loan nine of their top players to Spanish clubs, hoping it would give them a higher level of play. It backfired, as the nine barely saw any league action.
The Saudi coach is Juan Antonio Pizzi, who led Chile to the 2016 Copa America title. Pizzi resigned after Chile disastrously failed to qualify for this World Cup, then promptly took the Saudi job after they had already clinched a spot.
Also in Group A are in-form Uruguay, and an Egyptian squad desperately hoping that star striker Mohamed Salah can recover from injury. Overall, this is one of the weakest groups in World Cup history. It’s funny how these supposedly random draws usually seem to favour the host nation. The majority of Russian fans, though, don’t expect their team to make it out of the group. If Russia fails to win Thursday’s opener, then they might be right. Bob Lenarduzzi is president of Vancouver Whitecaps FC. Tickets: visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.