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#2 Russia
When the World Cup kicks off, millions of Russians will be hoping that their national football squad Sbornaya, chalks up a solid victory against Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
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Favoured to beat Group A rivals the Green Falcons, the Russians are considered to be one of the competition’s anomalies that will either rise to the occasion or crash and burn.
A big question surrounding the hosts is if they will be boosted by home team advantage to make it through the group stage.
Another question is if they will have anything left in their tanks if they do. While few fans or bookmakers expect Russia to excel in this year’s FIFA outing, a handful of crafted goals plus consistent saves from team captain and star goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev could change all that.
Despite coming into the 2018 competition as the lowest-ranked of the 32 teams, having never made it past the group stage in its previous World Cup outings in 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 or 2014, Sbornaya will be high on the list of dark horses.
Losing streaks exist to be broken, and what a coup it would be if the Russian national football squad's performances turn their fortunes around come the end of the tournament.
