04:59

Dull, they said. An uninspiring opener between the two lowest-ranked teams in the tournament, they said. Where’s the entertainment going to come from, they asked? Well, it turns they don’t know everything, and after Robbie Williams’s middle finger had taken centre stage, the entertainment was provided mostly by the boot of Denis Cheryshev, who came off the bench and scored twice in Russia’s 5-0 win over Saudi Arabia that heralded this 2018 World Cup.

Granted, it might not have been the most inspiring full 90 minutes of football ever witnessed, but surely no one can sniff at such a goal-fest to kick things off, especially given the fears of how a Russian no-show at the Luzhniki Stadium might transpire into a more general public malaise at the tournament.

Fear not though, the Russians are still in it! And so it is with a spring in our step that we head into day two, doubly so because today we get Portugal v Spain, arguably the most-anticipated match of the group stage (and one which is therefore surely destined to end 0-0). Indeed perhaps even triply so, because Mohamed Salah’s crocked shoulder will take its bow against Uruguay, for whom Luis Suarez will be looking for some kind of major tournament redemption by simply managing to not to succumb to his baser instincts. Salah’s shoulder could be there for the taking, though.

And then, as if our springy steps weren’t springy enough already, Morocco are playing Iran in the third game – undoubtedly the match of the day, and one which will certainly end 6-5, with three red cards and a ninth-minute stoppage-time winner, because, well because some have already dismissed it given the blockbusting nature of the other two games. And what do they know.

Any hoot, I’ll be with you for the next three hours, before Ben Fisher takes over and guides us through until the first kick-off the day, at which time we’ll have separate liveblogs as follows:

1pm BST/10pm AEST/8am EDT: Egypt v Uruguay – Group A

4pm BST/1am (Saturday) AEST/11am EDT: Morocco v Iran – Group B

7pm BST/4am (Saturday) AEST/2pm EDT: Portugal v Spain – Group B

In the meantime, feel free to get in touch on email (mike.hytner@theguardian.com) or Twitter (@mike_hytner) or below the line.