All fired up
Russia ride wave of euphoria into Uruguay clash
MOSCOW: World Cup hosts Russia are surfing a wave of national euphoria as they head into today’s encounter against two-time champions Uruguay after delighting their fans with a scintillating start to the tournament.
Written off as no-hopers before the World Cup, Russia head to the Volga River city of Samara for a game which will see the winners secure top spot in Group A following the elimination of Saudi Arabia and Egypt.
A draw would also be good enough to give Russia first place, thanks to the eight goals from two matches that have made believers out of fans used to decades of World Cup futility.
Both teams then face the likely prospect of going up against either Spain or Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in the last 16 – although underdogs Iran are still in the running in a tight Group B.
Uruguay however are likely to provide the type of stern test Russia will need to overcome if they are launch an extended run in the knockout rounds.
Yet the hosts are brimming with confidence having made it past the group stage of a World Cup for the first time since the Soviet Union lost to Belgium in the last 16 in 1986.
Russia had won just two of nine World Cup matches before kicking off the most watched event on the planet with a 5-0 rout of the Saudis.
Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko – the former sports minister who still oversees football in an unofficial capacity – said the squad had no right to relax.
“Our mission has still not been accomplished,” Mutko said after watching a team training session on the outskirts of a muggy Moscow.
“We would like to get into the knockout stage from first place.”
■ VOLGOGRAD: Saudi Arabia and Egypt will try to avoid finishing last in Group A as they bow out of the World Cup today, a disappointing end to the tournament in particular for Egypt and their usually prolific striker Mohamed Salah.
Both teams lost their first two games and the only thing they can salvage in the Volgograd Arena is the chance not to finish bottom of their group.
For Saudi Arabia, the match also offers the possibility of a first goal in the tournament in Russia.
Egypt, making their first World Cup appearance since 1990, had been tipped to advance into the knockout rounds after looking strong in the qualifiers.
But they narrowly lost to 1-0 to Uruguay in their opening match, which Salah missed as he recovered from his Champions League final injury with Liverpool. They then went down 3-1 to hosts Russia.
Salah has been pivotal to Egypt, scoring 71% of the team’s goals during qualification and claiming their solitary strike of the tournament so far against the Russians.
Despite scoring from the penalty spot, Salah looked like he was still feeling the effects of his injured shoulder in that game. — Agencies