Russia increases World Cup subsidies by $13m

Russia has increased government subsidies for the World Cup by $13 million amid concerns over the legacy of the tournament. Two government orders allocate an extra 481.6 million rubles ($7.6 million) for temporary World Cup infrastructure and 334.2 million rubles ($5.3 million) to the state company responsible for maintaining the stadiums. Analysis by news outlet RBK has put the total spend closer to $14 billion, which would make this World Cup most expensive.

Relief washed over them as the final whistle blew at the Krestovsky Stadium here on Tuesday. During the game, Lionel Messi had piggybacked on Marcos Rojo, after it he hugged Javier Mascherano. Angel di Maria was starting to tear up, perhaps overwhelmed at being spared the ignominy of a group-stage ouster. Don’t cry for Argentina yet.

The tension in the lead-up to the end had got to Messi as well. He had done the team talk at halftime, scored a sublime goal and when Rojo popped up from nowhere to blast the winner he showed what that goal meant to him. Then, Messi, who has so much joy with a football, waited the longest he has ever had for a match to end.

To protect Argentina’s 2-1 lead, Messi, visibly fatigued from a bruising encounter, chased every ball, even made a sliding tackle in the final third as he was being outrun by a Nigerian defender, before getting booked for wasting time. Argentina simply couldn’t afford to squander the opportunity provided by their left-footed centre-back who had scored with an outrageous right-footed volley, a finish that would be the envy of football’s most famous No. 9s, and Messi would do whatever it took to protect the 2-1 scoreline.

“Yes, we suffered a lot because it was a difficult situation but we had a lot at stake and it was a huge

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