With Euro 2016 in France over, attention turns to Russia. Ever since the announcement by a grinning Sepp Blatter in 2010 of Russia as victors over England for the right to host the 2018 World Cup, it has been clear the country has the potential to host a fantastic tournament – but that there are also many things that could go wrong.

With two years to kick-off the World Cup in Russia comes with all the usual worries before a major tournament about unfinished infrastructure, overspending and potential stumbling blocks but with a few specific extra concerns thrown in. Here are some that could be worth looking out for as the preparations for the first World Cup in eastern Europe enter the final stages.

Distance

Russia spans one-sixth of the world’s entire land mass and, although the matches are concentrated in the European part of the country, that is still a hell of a lot of distance. Kaliningrad, the most westerly host city, and Yekaterinburg, the most easterly, are farther apart than London and Moscow and travelling by train between them would take more than 36 hours. With high-speed trains operational only to a small number of host cities, fans are likely to need to take many internal flights. Teams may also face long round trips from their bases – although they are unlikely to be longer than England’s trek to Amazonian Manaus during the 2014 World Cup.

Terrorism

Russia has been battling a simmering Islamic insurgency in the North Caucasus for the past two decades. In recent years a combination of repression and allowing militants to leave southern Russia for Syria has meant less violence, and the security operation around the 2014 Winter Olympics was successful. Recent attacks in Paris and Brussels have suggested that western European targets may be more vulnerable than Russian ones these days. However, security forces will be on high alert for the World Cup.

Infrastructure

Russia 2018 still has the potential to be a fantastic event, with many host cities being great summer destinations

When Russia won the right to host the World Cup, it said it would build an impressive network of high-speed trains between many of the host cities to replace the current slow trains. Some of these proposals have been shelved but there are still plans to complete a super-fast train to cut the journey time between Moscow and Kazan from the current 12 hours to three and a half. With only two years left it is a race against the clock, however.

Racism

Russian fans have been at the epicentre of a number of racism scandals. The Russian Football Union (RFS) was even fined after Euro 2012 for the racial abuse by supporters that was directed at the Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie. A number of black players playing in the Russian league have complained of repeated and persistent racism; the Brazilian full-back Roberto Carlos walked off the pitch in disgust during a 2011 game playing for Anzhi Makhachkala, when a banana was thrown from the stands. There has been a concern that Russian authorities have not taken the issue seriously, denying the problem, despite around 100 racist incidents in only two seasons.

Doping

The scandal around doping in sport has not touched football but it has embroiled the key figures organising the World Cup, including the sports minister, Vitaly Mutko. With Russian athletes banned from the Rio Olympics and mutual anger and distrust between Russia and the international sporting community, navigating the line between punishing Russia adequately and retaining an atmosphere of trust and cooperation before the world’s biggest sporting event will be tricky.

The home team

Of all the potential scandals, the one closest to the heart of ordinary Russians is how their team will play on home turf. They left Euro 2016 in disgrace, gaining only one point and finishing with an abject 3-0 defeat by Wales, and their players were greeted on their return with derision. An ageing side, with few young talents apparently waiting in the wings to step in, there is serious hand-wringing about how to proceed. The coach, Leonid Slutsky, who said in an interview that after the Wales game he and the players gathered in a hotel room and told each other “We are shit”, has resigned.

Aaron Ramsey scores the opening goal for Wales in the 3-0 victory over Russia at Euro 2016. Photograph: Ian Walton/Getty Images

Hooligans

The European Championship introduced Europe to a new breed of Russian hooligan: fitter, leaner and harder than their beer-swilling counterparts. The Russian reaction to the violence in Marseille, in which several officials either laughed off the trouble or actively encouraged it, is a worry for the 2018 World Cup. Russia is passing new laws on fan violence and attempting to outlaw a number of groupings but it is unclear how serious and effective the crackdown will be.

Ukraine

Since the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the war in east Ukraine, relations between Moscow and Kiev have been strained; in light of this Uefa has kept Russian and Ukrainian clubs apart in European club competitions for the past two seasons, mindful of the potential for fan violence. However, if Ukraine qualify for the World Cup, there will not be much Fifa can do about a delicate and highly volatile situation.

Last chance before Qatar

Despite all the possible stumbling blocks the World Cup in Russia still has the potential to be a fantastic event, with many of the host cities being great summer destinations full of sport-mad Russians. Warm weather and a weak rouble could make for excellent holidays for those fans not afraid of a few hiccups. And it is sure to be more fun, more authentic and better all round than the World Cup after it, in Qatar in 2022.