Russia vs Saudi Arabia
Few football matches are preceded by 500 dancers, gymnasts, trampolinists and a fireworks display.
Yet again, not every football match marks the opening of the World Cup 2018.
Those inside the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, as well as a worldwide audience, will be treated to an extravaganza that will pay homage to all things Russia.
And after an opening ceremony featuring the likes of Placido Domingo, Robbie Williams and Jennifer Lopez, the host nation will expect the party to continue on the pitch.
There will even be an all-female team of ball retrievers during the opening match—the first time that has happened in the first game of the competition.
The girls, aged 13 to 16, from Agryz—a small town of 19,000 people – about 800km (500 miles) east of Moscow—were selected by the Russian national team.
The FIFA World Cup starts here!
Talking Points
It is an image we will get used to seeing a lot of over the next month.
Nothing says you have arrived in Russia quite like a selfie next to a picture of a cartoon wolf.
That will be the image of the tournament, but only one nation can stand proud with the trophy on July 15.
Realistically, neither of these sides will contest the final, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be able to look back with pride at their efforts.
To do so, however, chances are they will need to start with a win here.
Despite concerns over hooliganism and Russia’s fraught relations with the western world—not to mention unease over how the country was awarded the World Cup back in 2010—the hosts have nothing to lose.
They are only ranked the 70th best team in the world so expectations on producing good World Cup 2018 results, to a degree, are not that high. However, there is always enormous pressure on a host nation at a World Cup.
When Russia launched its bid to stage FIFA 2018, it did so from a position of strength.
The country’s footballers had reached the last four of Euro 2008 and hopes were high.
Since then, they have failed to progress beyond the group stage of any tournament, so this represents a golden opportunity to improve on that dismal record.
They are long overdue a victory as they last won in October against South Korea (4-2), and it’s fair to say Russia will be one of the least fancied World Cup hosts in history.
The overall SBOBET odds back that up.
Even their main striker Aleksandr Kokorin is out through injury.
Yet, with more than 140 million willing them on in their homeland, the president is optimistic and has issued a rallying call on the eve of the tournament.
Not that Saudi Arabia, ranked 67th themselves, should strike fear into their opponents either.
They pushed Germany close last week in a 2-1 friendly defeat, but their preparations have been far from ideal.
Juan Antonio Pizzi is their third coach to take charge since they qualified for Russia 2018.
Bert van Marwijk was fired despite leading them to their first World Cup since 2006, and Edgardo Bauza was sacked just five friendly internationals later—so much for friendlies!
Over the past fortnight, they have given good accounts of themselves in narrow losses to the Azzurri and reigning world champions Germany, yet were surprisingly defeated 3-0 by Peru.
Which Saudi Arabia turns up in this opener could make all the difference between them going home early or matching the nation’s best ever World Cup of 1994 when they reached the last 16, defeating Belgium en route.
Can they be party poopers?
History
Never before has the host nation lost the opening World Cup encounter.
On saying that, some tournaments have featured the holders first as opposed to the hosts.
Russia will not want to make history for the wrong reasons.
They have only met once before and that was in 1993 when Saudi Arabia triumphed 4-2 in a friendly on home soil.
That was shortly after the former Soviet Union fell victim to the end of the cold war. Many of its major players were separated into sides representing separate independent republics.
What are the odds?
Remember, big prizes await our best punters.
Russia are overwhelming favourites to win in our World Cup 2018 betting odds, a little surprising given their recent record.
You can get 1X2 odds on them at 1.41 compared to Saudi Arabia who are at 8.50. The draw is at 4.10.
Even in the first half, they are strongly tipped—First Half 1X2 @ 2.09 compared to the visitors @ 5.80.
If Asian Handicap betting is your preferred choice, Russia -1.50 @ 2.36 must be tempting, with the Saudis +1.00 @ 2.21.
Over 2.50 goals in the opener is priced at 2.28, or how about a double chance Saudi Arabia or Draw @ 2.75?
This is where it all begins.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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