The wait is over; the first match of the Russia World Cup 2018 takes place today as hosts Russia take on Saudi Arabia. Whilst the Russian national team has experienced a fall in the FIFA rankings recently, there is still a good chance they will do well in the tournament. Having the backing of the home fans can really give teams a lift at tournaments like this, so Russia could be on for a good run.
They have a number of danger men that the Group A opponents should be keeping an eye on:
© Getty Images
Igor Akinfeev – Russia’s goalkeeper plays his club football for CSKA Moscow and is considered to be the best ‘keeper in the league. In fact, a recent poll saw fans vote him as the top player in their league, including outfield players too. Akinfeev has won six Russian Premier League titles with CSKA and has played over 100 times for his country. At 32 this could be his first and last World Cup and he will want his team to do better than they did in Euro 2016 where they finished bottom of their group and only managed to score one point.
© Getty Images
Aleksandr Golovin – This year’s World Cup sees some of the more experienced players making way for the young stars of the future and Golovin is one of the youngsters tipped to go far. He has had a great season at CSKA Moscow, where his performances have caught the eye of clubs across Europe. Juventus, Manchester United and Chelsea have all recently been linked with the talented midfielder.
© Getty Images
Aleksandr Samedov – Samedov is a quick winger that plies his trade at Spartak Moscow. Now in his second spell at the team, after stints at Lokomotiv Moscow, Dynamo Moscow and FC Moscow, he has had a solid season. He is one of the more experienced players in the squad with almost 50 caps for his country.
© Getty Images
Sergei Ignashevich – At 38, Ignashevich is probably one of the only players that can actually remember Russia’s last World Cup campaign in 1990. The powerful centre-back came out of international retirement after Rusian Kambolov picked up an injury. His experience could be very important for the team.
© Getty Images
Fedor Smolov – Russia will be counting on Smolov to score goals if they are to progress in the tournament. He finished second top goal-scorer in the Russian league this season with 14 goals. His current team is FC Krasnodar who he helped to achieve a fourth place finish in the league. He may well be hoping that a good performance will help him to secure a move to a bigger club.