Hosts Russia have the expectation of a nation behind them as they aim to reach the knockouts for the first time since the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Placed in Group A alongside Egypt, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, Stanislav Cherchesov will back his side to at least make it into the Last 16.
2018 World Cup Qualification
Russia did not have to qualify for the World Cup.
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Tournament History
It has been 32 years since Russia played a knockout game at the World Cup, having been knocked out in the group stage or failing to qualify for the finals in each of the last seven editions.
Indeed, this year's hosts did not manage to win a single game in Brazil last time out and there was just one win in each of the 1994 and 2002 tournaments.
There have been happier times, though, as the USSR reached the quarter finals reached the quarter-finals in 1958, 1962 and 1970, and impressively finished fourth in 1966.
dabblebet2018 World Cup Squad
| GK | DEF | MID | ST |
|---|---|---|---|
| Igor Akinfeev | Mario Fernandes | Denis Cheryshev | Artem Dzyuba |
| Vladimir Gabulov | Vladimir Granat | Alan Dzagoev | Alekzsei Miranchuk |
| Andrey Lunyov | Sergei Ignashevich | Yury Gazinsky | Fyodor Smolov |
| Fyodor Kudryashov | Aleksandr Golovin | ||
| Ilya Kutepov | Daler Kuzyayev | ||
| Andrei Semyonov | Aleksandr Samedov | ||
| Igor Smolnikov | Yuri Zhirkov |
Latest World Cup odds
| Market | Price |
|---|---|
| To win the World Cup | 40/1 (41.0) |
| To make the World Cup final | 12/1 (13.0) |
| To win Group A | 7/4 (2.75) |
| To qualify from Group A | 3/10 (1.30) |
| To be the Top European team | 25/1 (26.0) |
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