2018 World Cup,World Cup 2018,2018 World Cup in India,World Cup 2018: Football showpiece set to begin in Russia,World Cup 2018: Saudi Arabia vs. Russia odds,Russia Welcomes 2018 World Cup

2018 World Cup,World Cup 2018,2018 World Cup in India,World Cup 2018: Football showpiece set to begin in Russia,World Cup 2018: Saudi Arabia vs. Russia odds,Russia Welcomes 2018 World Cup

Not everyone in Moscow welcomes the crowds and spectacle 2018 World Cup will bring.

The campus of Moscow State University is located in Sparrow Hills, a leafy haven overlooking Luzhniki Stadium, the main arena for this year's soccer World Cup.
Students are still cramming for final exams. But starting with the tournament's opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia on Thursday, thousands of screaming soccer enthusiasts will pack the official fan zone in front of the university's landmark main building to watch the tournament.
Not everyone at the school is a fan of the World Cup.
"It won't just affect students, but the work of research institutes and laboratories," said Nadya, a 24-year-old biology major who belongs to a group of students that opposes the fan zone. She asked that her last name not be used for fear of repercussions from the university administration.
The 2018 World Cup is the latest large international sporting event hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin. For the next month, hundreds of thousands of soccer fans will flock to Russia to watch 32 national teams play for the title of world champion. Nothing – and no one – will be allowed to disrupt the party.

 

Soccer fans traveling from South America cheer after boarding a connecting red-eye flight from Madrid to Moscow.

Lucian Kim/NPR

"Many students are scared of participating in protests since it carries the risk of administrative consequences, even criminal charges," said Nadya, who wore a sweatshirt with the English abbreviation of her university, MSU. "There were instances when students declined to sign petitions because they could face punishment."

Moscow students' muted opposition stands in stark contrast to the boisterous, even violent, protests against the World Cup in Brazil four years ago. In Russia, the authorities have cracked down on the slightest dissent: After a World Cup sign near the MSU campus was defaced recently, two students were arrested during an exam and a third was threatened with criminal charges.
While Nadya isn't sure if she'll watch any of the games, Alexander Shprygin says his biggest dilemma is deciding what he'll do during the World Cup. A former soccer hooligan, Shprygin is the head of a fan association whose activities were suspended after a massive fight between England and Russia fans in Marseille, France, two summers ago.
After the street battle, Shprygin was kicked out of France and barred from attending the Confederations Cup in Russia last year. He hasn't even bothered applying for a World Cup fan ID, which is required to buy a ticket.
"Now the FSB, the Federal Security Service, is dealing with fans. That's because the World Cup is a personal project of our president, and a lot is at stake," Shprygin, a burly 40-year-old, said in an interview in the Brawler's Pub in Moscow.
Just as Putin personally intervened to bring the Winter Olympics to Sochi in 2014, he worked hard to bring the World Cup to Russia. When the country's bid won eight years ago, Putin thanked FIFA, soccer's international governing body, for the honor.
"You can take my word for it, the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be up to the highest standards," he said in English. "We are eager to do our best to secure the comfort and safety of our guests."
Russia's law enforcement agencies have heard their orders.
Anton Gusev, a police general in charge of World Cup security, says that the authorities have taken into consideration "all risks and threats" to the tournament, which will be held in 11 cities in western Russia.
"It's possible we'll shut an eye to minor infractions," Gusev told reporters last week. "But we're ready to take tough action against offenders at any time and any place."
Russian law enforcement has taken "preventative measures" and will work to prevent "bad ideas" from being put into action, he said.

 

Alexander Shprygin, a former Russian soccer hooligan, says he doesn't expect any violence during the World Cup because of the heavy police presence.

Lucian Kim/NPR

Retired hooligan Shprygin says he's confident that there will be no repeat of the violence in France, because of the heavy police presence.
"All the soccer hooligans in Russia aren't waiting for the World Cup to start – they're waiting for it to end, so they can go back to their normal lives," he said.
At least that's one thing that Russia's most violent fans and Moscow students can agree on.

Football fans around the world have been waiting on the start of the 2018 World Cup for years, and the wait is now over. Russia takes on Saudi Arabia in the first match of the World Cup 2018 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow (11 a.m. ET) on Thursday. Russia is a -230 money-line favorite (bet $230 to win $100) on their home turf. The over-under, or total number of goals oddsmakers think will be scored, is 2. Before you bet on Russia vs. Saudi Arabia in the opening 2018 World Cup match, you need to see who football expert Thomas Rongen is backing.

He's the former assistant coach and chief international scout for the U.S. men's national teams and was the former head coach of the U.S. men's Under-20 team. He also was named MLS coach of the year in 1996 for the Tampa Bay Mutiny.

Rongen has broken down every World Cup roster and locked in his pick at SportsLine for Russia vs. Saudi Arabia. Rongen has identified the X-factor that will determine the outcome based on his inside knowledge of these players and coaches.

The match will start following an opening extravaganza at the host stadium that is expected to include approximately 500 performers, including gymnasts and dancers. International pop star Robbie Williams will perform alongside rising Russian artist Aida Garifullina.

Then, the focus will turn to the pitch. Rongen knows both clubs have faced adversity in preparations for the 2018 World Cup, but they have their sights set on a hope-inspiring victory.

Russia enters the opening match in full strength, but they have yet to win a friendly in 2018, with two of the matches coming against World Cup favorites Brazil and France. They will hope those games against formidable opponents will have them ready to get their first ever taste of knockout stage if they can escape Group A.

Russia is led by striker Fedor Smolov. He is a real threat in front of goal, evident by his 63 goals in 99 appearances in all competitions for FC Krasnodar. The Russians are a physical team that will need to beat Saudi Arabia in order to have a chance at advancing to the 2018 World Cup knockout stage, but with a slip-up in their opener, the hosts are probably done.

Rongen also knows Saudi Arabia has fired two coaches since qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2018. Juan Antonio Pizzi was recently named to lead the team, whose second-round exit in 1994 is its best finish. Pizzi takes over after failing to get Chile to the World Cup through the qualifying stage.

 

Watch the BBC World Cup titles

2018 Fifa World Cup
Venue: Russia Dates: 14 June-15 July
Coverage: Watch live on BBC TV, Red Button and iPlayer, BBC Sport website and app; listen on Radio 5 live; follow text updates online.

The 2018 Fifa World Cup gets under way on Thursday when hosts Russia face Saudi Arabia following an opening ceremony at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium.

Football's showpiece event features 32 teams, including holders Germany, competing in 64 games over 32 days.
The 21st edition will be played out in 12 stadiums, across 11 cities, spread over 1,800 miles.
England, winners in 1966, are the only team from the home nations to qualify and start against Tunisia on 18 June.

 

Watch: BBC's World Cup 2018 trailer

Germany, who defeated Argentina in the 2014 final, are looking to become the first team to win back-to-back World Cups since 1962, while Brazil seek a record-extending sixth world title.
The month-long tournament is expected to attract one and a half million fans to Russia and an estimated global television audience of over three billion viewers.
There are eight groups, each containing four teams, with the top two advancing to the last 16. The final takes place at the 81,000-capacity Luzhniki Stadium on 15 July (16:00 BST).

• What's on when: fixtures, kick-off times, venues
• BBC Sport's coverage: times and channels
• 2018 World Cup: venue guide

Who will win the World Cup?

World Cup holders Germany, five-time winners Brazil, Euro 2016 winners Portugal, 2014 runners-up Argentina, Belgium, Poland and 1998 winners France are among the eight seeded teams.
Hosts Russia are also seeded, even though they are the tournament's lowest-placed team - 70th - in Fifa's world rankings.
England, who have won only one of their past eight World Cup matches, are unseeded, as are 2010 champions Spain.
Germany have reached at least the semi-finals in each of the past four editions of the competition and, after being the only team to progress through European qualifying with a 100% record, are expected to be in the shake-up again. They are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
"Germany will be hunted like never before," said head coach Joachim Low. "Only us, as world champions, have anything to lose."

• How can you predict who is going to win the World Cup?
• Download 5 live's World Cup Daily podcast

Brazil are the only nation to have appeared at every single World Cup but they have not won the tournament since 2002, while you have to go back to 1958 to the last time they won it on European soil.
Yet the Brazilians will fancy their chances, particularly as Neymar, who cost a world record £200m when he moved from Barcelona to Paris St-Germain in August 2017, has returned to action after a broken foot.
Spain feature several Champions League winners from Real Madrid in their squad as they look to recapture the magic that saw them crowned world champions eight years ago and European champions in 2008 and 2012.
Meanwhile, Cristiano Ronaldo will be hoping for a first World Cup winners' medal after helping Portugal win Euro 2016, while Lionel Messi is hoping to win a first major trophy with Argentina.
France boast a young, exciting squad which includes 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe as well as a number of familiar Premier League names including Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba and Chelsea forward Olivier Giroud.

• The coach who has modernised Brazil
• 'When you win the World Cup, you could hug the world'
• Which players are going to Russia - all the confirmed squads

How are England expected to perform?

The closest England have come to repeating their feat of 1966 is a semi-final appearance at Italia 90.
With an average age of 26 years and 18 days, the Three Lions have the third-youngest squad in Russia.
Only three of Gareth Southgate's 23 players are aged 30 or over - defenders Gary Cahill and Ashley Young, both 32, and 31-year-old forward Jamie Vardy - while defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is the youngest at 19.
Cahill, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Danny Welbeck and Phil Jones are the only survivors from the squad that finished bottom of their group at the 2014 World Cup under Roy Hodgson.
After their opening game in Volgograd (16:00 BST), England face World Cup debutants Panama in Nizhny Novgorod on 24 June (13:00 BST) before rounding off their Group G campaign in Kaliningrad against Belgium four days later (19:00 BST).
While England comfortably qualified for Russia - and enjoyed friendly victories over Nigeria and Costa Rica in recent weeks - former Three Lions captain Alan Shearer does not believe they will win the tournament.
Current skipper Harry Kane is more upbeat.
"It's impossible not to dream about lifting the World Cup. I believe we can win it - anyone can," said the Tottenham forward
One thing England will have to address if they want to go far is their poor record at the knockout stage in major competitions.
They have not won a knockout match at a tournament since defeating Ecuador in the last 16 of the 2006 World Cup.
"Yes, we have a great record when it comes to qualifying, but since the 2010 World Cup our record at finals has been poor," added Shearer, who played alongside Southgate at the 1998 World Cup.
"That's why we should concentrate on getting out of our group first before we worry too much about who we could face in the next round, because doing that has been difficult enough in the past."

• Five reasons to be optimistic about England's World Cup chances
• How much do you know about the England squad?
• Throwback to when England won the World Cup

Who are the new boys?

Panama and Iceland will be competing at their first World Cup, which is held every four years.
With a population of approximately 335,000 people, Iceland are the smallest nation ever to qualify.
They will hope to repeat their exploits of two years ago, when they lit up Euro 2016 by reaching the quarter-finals in their first appearance at a major tournament, humiliating England en route.
Iceland's first game in Russia is against 2014 runners-up Argentina on 16 June.
A national holiday was declared in Panama after they qualified for the World Cup for the first time.
The Central American country, 55th in Fifa's world rankings, boast an experienced coach in Hernan Dario Gomez, who was in charge of his native Colombia at the 1998 World Cup and Ecuador at the 2002 edition.
There are several teams back on the world stage after lengthy absences.
Peru return to the finals for the first time since 1982, while north African nations Egypt and Morocco are back for the first time in 28 and 20 years respectively.

• Will an African team reach semi-finals for first time?

However, there are some notable absentees.
Four-time winners Italy, South American champions Chile and African champions Cameroon all failed to qualify.
The Netherlands, runners-up in 2010, also missed out while the United States are absent for the first time since 1986.

Referees to get VAR help

Video assistant referees (VAR) will be making a debut at the World Cup.
The technology will be used to help officials avoid making potentially match-deciding mistakes when it comes to such important issues as awarding goals, penalties or red cards.
VAR has been trialled in some domestic English cup games this season, and has been used in Germany and Italy.
"We wanted to give the referees tools so they can make better decisions, and in the World Cup some very important decisions are made," said Fifa president Gianni Infantino.
"It's not possible that in 2018 everyone in their living room knows a few seconds after the play whether a referee has made a mistake and the referee doesn't."
VAR was first used at the Club World Cup in December 2016, and trialled in the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Fan safety and security

Russia is hoping to put on a tournament to remember after beating England- as well as joint bids by Spain and Portugal, and the Netherlands and Belgium - to stage the tournament for the first time.
While about 10,000 England fans are expected to travel to Russia, a number are likely to stay away because of political tensions between the two countries and safety issues.
There were violent clashes when Russian fans charged England supporters in the stadium when the two countries played each other in Marseille at Euro 2016. Trouble was also reported in the city's streets between England, Russia and France fans.
"One thing supporters need to do when they go is be a good guest, behave themselves," said Mark Roberts, Britain's lead officer for football policing.=
Deputy Chief Constable Roberts warned acts of disorder will carry "severe" sentences in Russia although Alexei Smertin, the anti-discrimination chief of Russia 2018, played down concerns and said the atmosphere around World Cup venues will be friendly.
"It definitely won't be stressful and we let everyone feel comfortable and safe in our country," said the former Chelsea midfielder, capped 55 times by Russia.

How to follow the World Cup on the BBC

The BBC is the only destination for coverage 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on television, radio and online.
We will have 33 matches televised live while BBC Radio 5 live will provide live commentary of all the games.
England's first two World Cup matches will be shown exclusively live on the BBC, starting with the game against Tunisia on Monday, 18 June, and then the match versus Panama on Sunday, 24 June.
Meanwhile, fans will be able to watch the tournament in Ultra HD and virtual reality as BBC Sport trials cutting-edge technology.
Users will be transported to a fully immersive stadium experience, through headsets, as if they are sitting in their own hospitality box.
All 33 matches broadcast by the BBC will be available for free on BBC Sport's VR 2018 World Cup app, and the 29 matches on BBC One will also be available in Ultra HD.

Fans will be able to watch every match broadcast by the BBC from the corporation's virtual reality sofa

Ultra HD TV can be accessed through a high-speed internet connection and will be available on a first-come, first-served basis.
The HD stream will be available from the BBC iPlayer home screen as soon as programme coverage begins but the number of users granted access will be limited to "tens of thousands of people".

Over the next five weeks the greatest show on earth will again show it has the power to enthral, kicking aside Fifa’s tarnished reputation and the murkiness of Vladimir Putin’s regim

 The Ekaterinburg Arena, the easternmost venue of the 2018 World Cup, will host the second match between Egypt and Uruguay. Photograph: Roman Pilipey/EPA

Welcome, once again, to the world. Eight years, $19bn and two terms in the glorious 100-year rule of Vladimir Putin in the making, the 2018 World Cup in Russia is upon us. This has been a fittingly Soviet-scale construction project, taking in eight new superstadiums, thousands of miles of new roads and 53,000 civilian volunteers trained in the arts of pointing, waving and – toughest and most Russian of all – smiling at strangers.
As ever the greatest show on earth carries its own irresistible heat before the tournament opener on Thursday afternoon. The World Cup may be compromised by greed and murkiness. Fifa may have become a kind of floating corporate city state, orbiting the globe, planting its great clanking tentacles down among the ripest pastures. But as preparations thrummed up through the gears in Moscow on Wednesday there was a familiar sense of clarity, of that background hum beginning to die away.

World Cup 2018: complete guide to all 736 players

It is one of football’s mysteries that no matter what its governing bodies throw at this great belching, burping circus, the spectacle at its heart somehow remains pure and impossibly more-ish. There will be the usual moments of beauty and outrage over the next 35 days and 64 matches. On Saturday afternoon Lionel Messi, the greatest footballer of the modern age, will take on an Iceland team managed by a part-time dentist.
On Monday the odd-job street footballers of Panama will kick off their first ever World Cup, by the Black Sea. In Rostov the aristocrats of Brazil seek revenge for the humiliation of 2014 and for now the opening exchanges of any World Cup remain a four-yearly Christmas Day, an occasion that resonates with a deeply personal excitement.
At which point, the world beyond must also come rushing in. Should Fifa’s simperingly insincere football family be here at all? When Russia’s players walk out to face Saudi Arabia on Thursday they will do so as emissaries of the world’s largest land mass, a nation with a long-standing football culture and with the will to put on a grand show.
But still the question of Russia itself remains. There will be no shortage of pop-up Moscow expertise over the next few days, plenty of just-add-water holding forth on the exact scope and meaning of Putin’s sui generissuperstate.
This is not a criticism of attempts to put this spectacle in context, something everyone from Boris Johnson to Frankie Boyle (from whom this article has already stolen at least one Putin joke) has had a go at.

 

 Moscow commuters ride a World Cup themed metro train decorated with a picture of the Soviet era goalkeeper Lev Yashin. Photograph: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP/Getty Images

What really stands out is the impossibility of the task, the basic dizzying oddity of Russia and a political system the writer Peter Pomerantsev has described as “a post-modern dictatorship”.
A while back Gary Lineker offered a little handy moral relativism, floating the oft-repeated and deeply Russian notion that as there is corruption and murkiness in every country it is hypocritical to censure Russia for doing something similar.
While this is true in one sense, it also eliminates at a stroke the question of degree, obscuring in Russia’s case the lack of political opposition – liberal Russians sometimes refer to the system as “a shitocracy” – or the fact Amnesty International has voiced concerns about violence against dissenting voices.
Naturally the president was a visible presence in Moscow on the eve of the big kick-off, appearing suddenly on stage at the Fifa congress that would later award the United States, Mexico and Canada the 2026 tournament.

 

Moscow has submitted to World Cup fever, like a sombre great-uncle dancing at a wedding

As Putin took the microphone the World Cup trophy sat gleaming on its plinth a few yards away, a mirror image of smooth golden otherworldly alpha power. Relaxed as ever, with that strange capacity to fill any room with his presence, Russia’s leader spoke approvingly of Gianni Infantino – and without a false note right up until the moment he described Fifa’s president as “our front man”. Translation issues, no doubt.
The view from Moscow is at least a little clearer. The grand beige-hued centre of town has been sandblasted by a two-year facelift project, leaving a spotless face to greet the World Cup’s half a million visitors. On Wednesday night travelling fans could already be seen singing in the central squares as Moscow submitted to World Cup fever like a sombre great-uncle dancing at a wedding.
What happens next – if we can, finally, speak of the football – is equally fascinating. Among the favourites to win the World Cup, Brazil and Germany look strong and settled, and Spain strong and unsettled after the outlandish decision to sack their manager Julen Lopetegui on Wednesday morning, punishment for his acceptance of the Real Madrid job after the tournament.
France have the greatest depth of talent. Argentina look brittle in defence and dreamily strong in attack, with Messi always capable of simply lifting the tournament by the scruff of the neck and walking away with it.
Neutrals will perhaps hope for some new faces in the late stages. Nigeria, Senegal and Egypt carry Africa’s middling hopes of a first semi-finalist. Serbia may spring a shock, while Belgium, most people’s hotly tipped over-underdogs, have a look of England 2006 about them, with dollops of elite talent, a slightly jarring strain of optimism and a manager with a nice suit.

 Colombia fans make a colourful addition to Red Square. Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA

Ah yes. England. For once football’s most quietly tortured nation will enter a World Cup with the burden of expectation close to zero. This has brought its own unexpected positivity. With an admirable manager in Gareth Southgate and some fit, likeable young players there has even been a cautious bubbling of optimism around the squad as they set about their drills in sleepy Repino.
In the past England have relied on individuals, on the notion a single burst of running power from some celebrity A-lister may be enough to roar the world into submission. This time they have a grooved system and a team of willing workers. A lack of outstanding players will do for them at some stage. But Southgate deserves credit for the way the tone has been set, for his backing of Raheem Sterling in the face of nonsensical assaults on his character and for the fraternal support offered to Danny Rose over his struggles with depression.
And so on with the show. It is an odd side note to Russia 2018 that Putin wanted this World Cup for reasons that now seem a little distant. Ten years ago Russia was keen to engage with the world on positive terms, to signify its coming out as a global player. The temperature has dropped since, to the extent it is debatable Russia would bother bidding now.
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