Fast forward to 2014 and it was a completely different narrative. The World Cup was happening in it’s spiritual home, with Brazil, 5 time World Cup champions, hosting the World Cup. The opening match between Brazil and Croatia had 4 goals, and the tournament averaged 2.67 goals, whereas South Africa and Mexico had 2 goals, and the 2010 World Cup only averaged 2.23 goals. As seen, there seems to be a positive correlation between the # of goals scored in the opening game and average goals scored in the World Cup.

The political tension

Russia is a country that’s never been far from controversy. With recent allegations that Russia poisoned a former Russian spy, many have decided to boycott the World Cup. This includes the likes of the Royal Family and the Icelandic government. But, while there’s tension around the murdering around the Russian spy, and Russia’s conflicts with the United States, this World Cup is exactly what Putin wants.

Considering the continuous reporting of corruption of Russia, this World Cup will certainly deviate some of the media away from the issues of the Russian government and the Russian people, similar to what happened in Brazil 2014. While there are likely to be protests in Russia similar to Brazil 2014, if the World Cup doesn’t start on the right note, than Putin’s flaws will certainly be highlighted.

The economic impact of Russia 2018

As seen with the Japan and South Korea in 2002, the World Cup was the perfect event that helped build the sport and create a strong fan culture around football. Should the World Cup be a success, the World Cup will certainly help build the sport and creating a strong community around football. Furthermore, with the money that this World Cup brings and with the star players on display, tourism will certainly peak during the World Cup.

Fan safety

Unlike the past World Cups, fan safety seems more important than before as we approach this World Cup. In the past, many Russian fans have been at the centre of hooliganism, whether it was at Euro 2016, or the 2014 World Cup. Nonetheless, with safety being a massive question mark with Russia, fan safety is critical to determining the mood of the World Cup and the press that it receives.

Racism in Russia

Unfortunately, racism is still one of the biggest issues in football and is yet to have been fully contained. However, with several reported stories over the past few years of Russian fans racially abusing black players, racism remains another huge issue. With so many players from different countries participating in the World Cup, Russia definitely need to clean up their act when it comes to racism. With the current political tension around the world, whether there’s racism or not at the World Cup will determine the reputation of Russia towards the rest of the world.

Big countries and big players missing out

Unlike previous World Cups, there are several big, footballing-mad nations missing out. Italy, Netherlands, Chile, United States, and Ghana are the notable teams that will not be participating at the World Cup. Despite this elimination, this provides a brilliant opportunity for smaller nations like Panama, and Peru. But, how the smaller nations perform will determine how Russia 2018 will go, as these are the very same nations that have replaced the likes of Italy & Netherlands at the World Cup. At the end of the day, if the smaller teams are performing poorly, than viewership will decline and not as many people will be attending the matches.

The last chance?