Russia has struggled of late but finds itself in the weakest group in modern World Cup history. Can the home team advance, or will Mohamed Salah have the last laugh?

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The wait is finally over. On June 14, in front of a crowd of 80,000 including Vladimir Putin and a wolf mascot named Zabivaka (‘The Goalscorer’), Russia and Saudi Arabia will kickstart the 2018 edition of the FIFA World Cup. A lot has changed since Brazil and this tournament will feature 12 teams that did not indulge in a Caipirinha in 2014. To get you up to speed so that you can impress your work colleagues with your knowledge of the Peruvian back four, Offballer will be publishing a handy World Cup preview for each group. So, as they say in Russia, Поехали!

RUSSIA

How they qualified: Host nation

Manager: Stanislav Cherchesov

Star player: Fedor Smolov (FC Krasnodar)

Player to watch: Aleksandr Golovin (CSKA Moscow)

Preferred system: 3-5-2

Elo Rank: 45

2014 finish: Group stage (0-2-1)

Odds: 40-1

Of the 1,000 Russian athletes spanning 30 sports who benefited from state-sponsored doping between 2012 and 2015, FIFA found, luckily, “insufficient evidence” that any of Russia’s World Cup footballers were part of the scandal. The timing is impeccable and with the weight of an investigation that featured the detective work of “scientific and legal experts” lifted, the Russian national team can now focus on football, which is much needed, considering a recent string of poor performances. Since Euro 2016, Russia has won just six matches in 19 tries and their 2017 Confederations Cup campaign, a precursor to the main event this June, ended early with losses to Portugal and Mexico. If it weren’t for the automatic qualification because of their hosting duties, Stanislav Cherchesov’s squad would likely have been watching this World Cup at home on state-run television.

Russia’s best player is perhaps their goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, a 32-year-old stalwart of the Russian Premier League, who has totaled 397 appearances for CSKA Moscow and 104 caps for the national team. Akinfeev returns to the World Cup on a redemption mission, hoping that his highlight reel will consist of clean sheets, acrobatic saves, and not meme-worthy errors, as it did in 2014.

In the midfield, Aleksandr Golovin is the one to watch and the 21-year-old playmaker has already attracted the attention of Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United. Golovin is one of Russia’s most exciting prospects and his fleet of foot in the center of the park makes a welcome change to Russia’s usual brand of slow, plodding football.

Up front, Fedor Smolov will spearhead the attack. In 2016, Smolov turned down a lucrative offer to play in China, flinching at the money because of his dream of one day playing in a top European league. The World Cup will, therefore, serve as an important job interview for the FC Krasnodar marksman. The 28-year-old’s ascendancy has coincided with his very public 2015 divorce from former Miss Russia, Victoria Lopyreva. The two were regulars in the Russian tabloids and the distractions that came with celebrity life — Lopyreva commented that Smolov was “more interested in social media and beautiful cars” throughout their relationship — reflected the striker’s indifferent form on the pitch. Refocused and somewhat matured, Smolov has developed into Russia’s key striker and his ex-wife will be keeping a close eye on his form — Lopyreva, with some help from Vladamir Putin, is the official ambassador of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Perhaps the biggest concern for the host nation isn’t a distracted Smolov, but their defense. Departures (Sergei Ignashevich and Vasily Berezutski) and injuries (Viktor Vasin and Georgi Dzhikiya) have forced Cherchesov to get creative with his formations, dithering between playing three and five at the back. Recent results, which have included a wealth of scoring opportunities for their opponents, don’t bode well for Russia advancing beyond the group stage, despite the benefit of being in the weakest group in modern World Cup history.

SAUDI ARABIA

How they qualified: Second in Asia’s Group B behind Japan

Manager: Juan Antonio Pizzi

Star player: Yahya Al-Shehri (Al-Nassr)

Player to watch: Fahad Al-Muwallad (Al-Ittihad)

Preferred system: 4-3-3

Elo Rank: 63

2014 finish: Did not qualify

Odds: 500-1

Saudi Arabia enters the tournament as the lowest-ranked team with the lowest Elo rating and a managerial merry-go-round since qualification doesn’t paint the picture of a team that has it quite figured out yet. Bert van Marwijk, the venerable Dutch manager, was at the helm for two years and helped the Green Falcons qualify for their first World Cup since 2006. But his champagne-soaked shirt hadn’t yet dried when a disagreement with the Saudi Football Association led to his ousting. Edgardo Bauza was next up, but the Argentinian was only around for a quick cup of coffee before he was given his marching orders and replaced with Juan Antonio Pizzi three days before the draw. Instability at the top, a new system to implement, and an inexperienced team (none of Pizzi’s side has played in a World Cup), add up a one big fat question mark entering the group stage.

Yet, despite all of the concerns, Saudi Arabia plays an attacking brand of football that should challenge Russia in the opening game of the tournament, especially if the home team is not prepared. The squad is mostly made up of players from the top two teams in the Saudi Premier League and the unity amongst the playing group should benefit them. Yahya Al-Shehri, burdened with the moniker “Arabic Messi,” is a creative midfielder who lined up on the flank under van Marwijk and is able to score goals with savvy positioning and an accurate left boot. On the opposite side of the pitch is Fahad Al-Muwallad, an exciting 23-year-old, who, like Al-Shehri, was one of nine Saudi Arabian players recently loaned out to La Liga clubs in a bizarre deal that didn’t require the Spanish teams to pay their salaries or guarantee them playing time (spoiler: they didn’t play very much). Al-Muwallad has the ability to attack spaces and finish around the box, as evidenced by his strike that propelled Saudi Arabia past Japan 1-0 and punched their ticket to Russia.

With nothing to lose, Saudi Arabia could throw caution to the wind and be one of the more exciting teams to watch in the group stage. But with a relatively thin defense, this strategy could backfire disastrously with opponents attacking them on the counter and it could get ugly quickly.

EGYPT

How they qualified: First in Africa’s Group E ahead of Uganda and Ghana

Manager: Hector Cúper

Star player: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)

Player to watch: Mahmoud Hassan (Kasımpaşa, on loan from Anderlecht)

Preferred system: 4-2-3-1

Elo Rank: 51

2014 finish: Did not qualify

Odds: 150-1

Despite having Mohamed Salah, one of the most prolific goal scorers in the world, Egypt plays a dreadfully dull style of football, happy to simply sit back and defend. Hector Cúper’s strategy has obviously worked, as Egypt qualified for their first World Cup since 1990, but critics have panned his cautious tactics and one-dimensional plan (scribbled on a dry-erase board somewhere in Cairo: “pass it to Mo Salah and get out of the way”). Considering the dearth of talent around Salah, Cúper’s tactics do make some sense, but it certainly doesn’t result in an inspiring spectacle.

Low scoring affairs are the name of the game for Egypt — only twice have the Pharaohs conceded more than one goal (in 32 games) under Cúperis — and the man tasked with keeping the ball out of the net is 45-year-old keeper, Essam El-Hadary. El-Hadary made his international debut in 1996, amazingly before some of his teammates were even born, and will become the oldest player to take the pitch at a World Cup. In front of the elderly statesman, West Bromwich Albion center-back Ahmed Hegazi headlines a solid defensive unit, while Mohamed Elneny and Mahmoud Hassan “Trézéguet” are above average midfielders who could make some noise.

Ultimately, however, Egypt’s cautious style will only take them so far and any hopes of advancing beyond the group stage will rest on the shoulders of Liverpool star and world football revelation, Mohamed Salah. The 25-year-old, who plays right wing, will be one of the most anticipated players to watch in the tournament, having just broken the record for the most goals in a 38-game English Premier League season (32) and collected a swag of awards, including the PFA Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Player of the Year. Salah’s a treat to watch — a world-beater, capable of scoring in bunches, despite not being an out-and-out striker. He has ascended to national hero status in his homeland, leading to comparisons to famous Egyptian landmarks “like the Pyramids or the Sphinx,” while Steven Gerrard recently called him “best player on the planet right now.” At the World Cup, it’s time to prove it, and with a standout performance, the Ballon d’Or — which has been resting on either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo’s mantle since 2008 — is not out of the question.

URUGUAY

How they qualified: Second in South America

Manager: Óscar Tabárez

Star player: Luis Suárez (Barcelona)

Player to watch: José Giménez (Athletico Madrid)

Preferred system: 4-4-2

Elo Rank: 13

2014 finish: Lost in the round of 16 to Colombia

Odds: 25-1

On paper, Uruguay, led by manager Óscar Tabárez, has the strongest squad in Group A. But this is not the Uruguay of old. La Celeste is a team in transition, with a wealth of young, attack-minded players emerging to force Tabárez to change the trajectory of the national team, whose tactics have long been rooted in defense. The metamorphosis took full effect late in the qualifying round, when Tabárez removed some of the stalwarts of the national team, including Cristian Rodríguez and Carlos Sánchez, and embraced the Uruguayan youth movement. The new generation — including Federico Valverde (19 years old), Rodrigo Bentancur (20), Nahitan Nández (22), Matías Vecino (26), Giorgian De Arrascaeta (24) and Maximiliano Gómez (21) — represents a distinct shift in the way the team plays and brings enthusiasm and creativity to a midfield that has mostly been happy sitting behind the ball.

Uruguay’s age vs. experience balance is also struck in defense, with 32-year-old team captain Diego Godín, who has 123 international caps to his name, partnering with 23-year-old José Giménez, who was just 19 at the last World Cup. The two play together at Atlético Madrid and will provide a stable backline as the more adventurous midfield begins to take shape.

The change in tactics should also benefit the Uruguayan strikers, who represent one of the most formidable duos in international football. Luis Suarez, he of biting infamy, will look to redeem himself at this tournament after his 2014 World Cup campaign was cut short when he planted his teeth in Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini’s shoulder during their group stage matchup. Suarez has, thankfully, put his vampiric ways behind him and has netted over 150 goals since moving to Barcelona four years ago. Across from him is long-haired marksman Edinson Cavani, who is nicknamed ‘El Matador’ for his flamboyant style and commanding presence on the pitch. The 31-year-old from Paris Saint-Germain was prolific in front of goal this season, scoring 40 goals in 48 appearances and breaking Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s all-time PSG goal-scoring record. The two represent the greatest goal-scoring partnership in national team history and their performances will go a long way in determining how deep Uruguay can progress.