This article is part of the Guardian’s 2018 World Cup Experts’ Network, a cooperation between some of the best media organisations from the 32 countries who have qualified for Russia. theguardian.com is running previews from two countries each day in the run-up to the tournament kicking off on 14 June.



Stanislav Cherchesov took charge of Russia immediately after a disastrous Euro 2016 campaign in which the team – led by Leonid Slutsky – finished last in their group. Shortly after his appointment Cherchesov announced his intention to build a side from scratch. Firstly he switched formation to a back three and began looking for the right combination of defenders. It was a case of shedding the past while moving with the times. “We have not achieved anything with four at the back,” he said when explaining his decision. “Moreover, almost half of Russian Premier League teams are playing with three defenders. So we want to be flexible.”



It was clear that Igor Akinfeev would keep his long-standing spot in goal, but the defence remained up in the air. Three veterans – the Berezutsky twins Vasili and Alexey, and Sergey Ignashevich – effectively retired from international football in 2016 so Cherchesov started to use inexperienced and young defenders such as Fyodor Kudryashov, Ilya Kutepov, Georgy Dzhikiya and Viktor Vasin. Those players aside, Cherchesov ended up using 10 players at centre-back in almost two years.

It means no one, perhaps not even even Cherchesov himself, can accurately predict the three that will start this summer, although injuries to Vasin and Dzhikiya have added to the uncertainty. Both would probably be expecting to face Saudi Arabia in the opener had they not torn their cruciate ligaments earlier in the year. Ignashevich in fact made a dramatic return to the squad on 14 May after Ruslan Kambolov’s withdrawal and is now, at the age of 38, in line to start in central defence.

Russia’s luck with injuries has been abysmal. Another key man who will miss the competition after cruciate surgery is the forward Alexander Kokorin. He was brilliant in the first half of the season, scoring 19 goals for Zenit St Petersburg, but now Cherchesov must source firepower from elsewhere. Kokorin’s backup at Zenit, Anton Zabolotny, was in awful form this spring and Artyom Dzyuba – who has had an eventful loan from Zenit to Arsenal Tula – is rumoured to have fallen out with Cherchesov, which means the first choice up front will be Fyodor Smolov, the prolific FC Krasnodar striker.

Midfield is another unpredictable area. Russia will certainly use two wing-backs but those spots remain up for grabs. More centrally, Russia’s big problem is the lack of a strong holding midfielder. There should be an obvious solution in Igor Denisov of the Lokomotiv Moscow, but back in 2015, when they both worked at Dynamo Moscow, Cherchesov and Denisov fell out and have not spoken to each other since. Denisov is the best defensive midfielder in Russia by a mile, but Cherchesov has never called him up.

Instead Cherchesov has tended to use Denis Glushakov of Spartak as a holding midfielder. Glushakov has had a poor season though, and is not a specialist in that role anyway; he has been named only among the reserves in Cherchesov’s squad, which sets up another poser. Russia do at least have a number of good box-to-box midfielders; Cherchesov has confidence in Alexander Golovin, Roman Zobnin, Daler Kuzyaev and Alan Dzagoev, who are likely to compete for the three central berths. Finally, the gifted Alexey Miranchuk should start behind Smolov. With Kokorin injured, Russia will field one striker and one attacking midfielder.

Russia’s last two friendlies before the World Cup ended in a defeat (against Austria) and a draw (against Turkey), meaning that Cherchesov’s team will go in to the tournament having failed to win any of their past seven games, which is hardly encouraging.

Probable starting XI

Russia probable starting XI

Which player is going to surprise everyone at the World Cup?

Golovin is the youngest player in the team and one of three whose places in the starting XI are nailed-on (along with Akinfeev and Smolov), having become a key man at the heart of Russia’s midfield. No wonder there have been strong rumours about a possible move to Premier League clubs, including Chelsea and Arsenal.

Which player is likely to disappoint?

Since Kokorin tore his ligaments, Smolov has become Russia’s main attacking force. That does not necessarily make things easier for the Krasnodar striker, though. Smolov has been the top Russian goalscorer in two of the past three seasons but is nowhere near as prolific for the national team.

What is the realistic aim for Russia at the World Cup and why?

A place in the last 16. After the draw Russians thought their team were lucky to be in such an easy group, but since December Mohamed Salah has become one of the strongest players in the world, which has planted seeds of doubt about the host nation’s ability to get through. Progress from Group A would probably be rewarded with a tie against Spain or Portugal – and Russia’s journey will almost certainly finish at that point .

Gosha Chernov writes for Sport-Express.

Follow him on Twitter here.

Click here for a profile of Russia’s Anton Miranchuk.