June 7 – World Cup hosts invariably go into World Cups with at least a modicum of optimism but Russia is going to need all the help it can get to progress from the group stage and prevent the tournament taking a massive early hit.
The hosts enter as the lowest-ranked side of all 32 teams competing in the finals, dropping to an historic record low of 70th in the latest FIFA rankings.
Russia kick off against Saudi Arabia on June 14 in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium but a seven-game winless streak stretching back to November last year hardly augurs well.
Their new ranking represents a drop of five places following their latest setback, a 1-0 loss to Austria in a friendly last month.
On paper the Russians – who have ranked an average 22nd since the creation of FIFA’s global table in December 1992 – have a relatively easy group but will still need to raise their game against Uruguay, ranked 14th, Egypt, in 45th, and the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament, Saudi Arabia, in 67th.
Poland’s recent form has helped them climb into eighth position at the expense of Spain. Reigning World Cup champions Germany top the list with five-time winners Brazil second.
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