RUSSIA HAVE A POINT TO PROVE
The hosts will be under enormous pressure to perform as they head into Thursday's World Cup curtain-raiser against Saudi Arabia. With the entire nation, including President Vladimir Putin, looking up to the team, here’s a look at how they are placed:
HOPING TO PROGRESS
Despite failing to win in seven matches stretching back to October, 2017, the hosts still have realistic hopes of making it to the second round for the first time in more than 30 years.
Coach Stanislav Cherchesov has been working overtime trying to rebuild his team, particularly defensively but the tournament has arrived without him showing much evidence of progress.
HEAVY EXPECTATIONS
Russia has spent more than $13 billion on preparations for the big event, and President Vladimir Putin called on the team to pull themselves together as they look to progress from a section also featuring Uruguay and Egypt. "As far as the team are
INJURY BLOWS
Zenit St Petersburg striker Alexander Kokorin had to pull out due to a serious knee injury in March. Also absent will be defenders Georgi Dzhikiya and Viktor Vasin.
Krasnodar forward Fedor Smolov and Artem Dzyuba, loaned out to Arsenal Tula in January after falling out with ex-zenit coach Roberto Mancini, will spearhead the attack.
BELOW-PAR BUILD UP
Cherchesov's side will walk out at the Luzhniki stadium, the historic crucible of Russian sport, ranked a lowly 70th in the world, three spots below Group A rivals Saudi Arabia.
A 1-1 draw in Moscow with Turkey last week made Cherchesov the first Russian or Soviet manager to go winless in seven consecutive games, four of those ending in defeat. concerned, I must acknowledge the fact that, unfortunately, our team have not achieved big results in recent times," Putin said. "But we very much expect the team to play with dignity, for them to show modern, interesting football, and to fight until the end."
FACTFILE
Russia are winless in their last five Cup games, losing three and drawing two. In fact, their only two wins at the World Cup since independence were against African teams — a
6-1 win over Cameroon in 1994 and 2-0 victory against Tunisia in 2002.
Saudi Arabia have kept only one clean sheet in their 13 games at the World Cup.