FIFA World Cup 2018: Russia eye winning start against Saudi Arabia

At last, the high mass of the global game will begin. After all the lobbying, politicking and campaigning by Morocco and the joint United 2026 bid for the World Cup in eight years time, the focus will turn to the football, with the opening game between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia.

At Red Square, fans from all over the world have begun gathering. Colourful and dancing Peruvians, who are celebrating their return to the finals for the first time in 36 years, singing Colombians, who have purchased more than 60,000 tickets, Argentines with Lionel Messi shirts and Socceroos fans, who have come all the way from Australia.

As the evening progressed on Tuesday they watched the fireworks to commemorate Russia day, the national day of the hosts. Security was reinforced, but all passed without incident as World Cup fever hit Moscow. On Wednesday, more fans flooded the historical centre of the Russian capital, taking in the beautiful architecture, the historical monuments and the Lenin's tomb.

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Russian fans haven't warmed up to the tournament yet. The Zbornaya return to the world stage, but with fear of humiliation. At last year's Confederations Cup Russia were very underwhelming, crashing out in the first round in a modest group with Mexico, New Zealand and Portugal. Cristiano Ronaldo and his team dismantled the hosts with ease.

The worry for Russia is that they have declined since then, playing high-profile friendlies, including Brazil and France. Russia remain very fragile at the back and have little firepower up front, in spite of Fedor Smolov, a talented striker, who hasn't found the net enough.

Still, against Saudi Arabia, they have a chance. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President, was optimistic in general terms, speaking about the tournament as "a dream for Russia." He emphasised that Russia did everything to deliver a perfect world championship.

That depends, not just on how the outside world sees and experiences Russia, but also on how the tournament develops, with the football on display. Germany and Brazil are sky-high favourites to progress to the final, but there are other challenges who may disturb their dreams, such as, France and Spain.

Still, in the end, on July 15, the day of the final, the Peruvian and Colombian fans mat they be still celebrating, not in Red Square, but just as a memory and how well they did.