By Vivem Soriano
Eagle News Service
The highly anticipated FIFA World Cup begins tonight as the host nation Russia battles Saudi Arabia in Moscow’s 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium at 11:00 PM (GMT+8).
Both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are expected to be in attendance.
The 21st edition of the World Cup will be hosted for the first time by Russia and will be played in 11 cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.
Expected to attend are not only thousands of football fans from all over the world but also foreign leaders and official representatives of a dozen countries.
According to a Kremlin press release, apart from Putin and the Saudi crown prince, the dignitaries who have confirmed their attendance include the presidents of Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Panama, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, South Ossetia, Rwanda, the president-elect of Paraguay, the prime ministers of Armenia and Lebanon, and the president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly of North Korea.
Groups
A total of 32 nations divided in eight groups of 4 will battle it out to be the top football nation in the planet.
After a round-robin in the group stages, the top 2 squads from each group will advance to the knockout stages.
Brazil is the favorite to win the tournament and to claim a sixth World Cup.
The South American powerhouse will be in Group E together with Switzerland, Costa Rica and Serbia.
Defending world champions Germany will try to become the first nation since 1962 to win back-to-back World Cups.
The Germans are in Group F with Mexico, Sweden and South Korea.
2010 winners Spain are entering the tournament undefeated in 20 matches and are one of the favorites to win the cup.
La Roja, however, encountered a big distraction just a day ahead of the World Cup after manager Julen Lopetegui was fired and replaced by Fernando Hierro.
The former winners will be in Group B with Iberian rivals and reigning European champions Portugal who will be led by Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, plus Morocco and Iran.
Group D, considered as the tournament’s “Group of Death,” is composed of South American powerhouse Argentina led by Barcelona’s Lionel Messi, overachievers Iceland, a stacked Croatia and tough and rugged Nigeria.
Notable absentees after failing to qualify for this year’s World Cup are former champions Italy, the United States and South American champions Chile.
