Russia given good draw in weak Group A

Paris (AFP) – Russia are bidding to avoid the ignominy of becoming only the second World Cup hosts to fail to reach the knockout stage and have been given a good draw in a wide-open Group A.

Stanislav Cherchesov’s team will open the tournament against Saudi Arabia in Moscow on June 14, although will have to be vastly improved from their abysmal Euro 2016 campaign to get past either Uruguay or Egypt.

Two-time world champions Uruguay will be heavy favourites to progress with a fearsome strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani.

But the rest of their squad is not as strong as the one that reached the semi-finals in 2010 and they may rely too much on Paris Saint-Germain star Cavani and the brilliant Suarez, who will be looking to right the wrongs of four years ago when he was banned for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini.

This will be Russia’s fourth World Cup since the break-up of the Soviet Union, but they have never reached the last 16.

Home teams often perform better than expected though — South Africa were the first-ever hosts to fall at the first hurdle eight years ago.

Egypt’s hopes will rest to a large extent on the form and fitness of Salah.

He scored a record-breaking 32 Premier League goals for Liverpool this season, but a shoulder injury suffered in the Champions League final against Real Madrid at the weekend means he faces a race against time to be fit.

If Salah does recover, they could prove dark horses, but they too have never reached the giddy heights of a World Cup knockout round.

One country that has achieved that feat is Saudi Arabia, but that last-16 appearance thanks to Saeed Al-Owairan’s stunning goal against Belgium in 1994 looks likely to remain a one-off.

In probably the weakest group of the World Cup on paper, avoiding Group B favourites Spain in the last 16 could be the key for any of these teams to go deep into the tournament.

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