Russia could wilt under the weight of expectation

Russia hosting the World Cup for the first time unfortunately coincides with their weakest pool of players since the split of the Soviet Union.

Ten years ago it looked as if Russian football was set for a breakthrough on the world stage as CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg won European trophies in the space of three years and a dynamic national team led by Guus Hiddink reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008.

However, that proved to be a false dawn and bar the opening game of Euro 2012 they have failed to live up to expectations since. In fact it is easy to say that Russian national team have been going backwards, lost in a world of highly-paid foreign coaches and devoid of identity about the way they play.