World Cup 2018: 5 predictions on how far the teams will go  

#3 Russia will fail to live up to expectations

Russia will have home advantage

Russia are getting ready to host their first ever FIFA World Cup and there will be a lot of pressure on their team to do well in front of their home supporters. Their recent results have not been very encouraging because they are winless in their last 5 games, with their last win coming on October 7th 2017 against South Korea.

Their current squad also does not fill the supporters with belief. Their squad is missing the presence of a real superstar and most of their best players are in their 30s. They have been placed in Group A, where they are joined by Uruguay, Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

On paper, they should be able to comfortably go through to the group stages but they should not take their opponents lightly. Egypt will be highly motivated to do well because of their long absence from the tournament and they will be led by the in-form Mohammad Salah.

Similarly, Saudi Arabia have also missed the last few editions and although they don't have a superstar in their team, they are still capable of pulling off upsets.

I predict that Russia will finish third in their group and thus become one of the few host nations to get knocked out in the group stages.