Here we take a look at Russia's World Cup squad and the other things it will be handy to know about the Group A challengers.

Russia's World Cup squad - the 23 names

23-man final squad:

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Brugge), Andrei Lunyov (Zenit St. Petersburg).

Defenders: Mario Fernandes (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Granat (Rubin Kazan), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Fyodor Kudryashov (Rubin Kazan), Ilya Kutepov (Spartak Moscow), Andrei Semyonov (Akhmat Grozny), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St. Petersburg).

Midfielders: Denis Cheryshev (Villarreal), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Yuri Gazinsky (FC Krasnodar), Alexander Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Daler Kuzyaev (Zenit St. Petersburg), Anton Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Spartak Moscow), Alexander Yerokhin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Zobnin (Spartak Moscow).

Forwards: Artyom Dzyuba (Arsenal Tula), Alexei Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Fyodor Smolov (FC Krasnodar).

Russia's World Cup 2018 fixtures

Saudi Arabia: Thursday, June 14 at 4pm
Egypt: Tuesday, June 19 at 7pm
Uruguay: Monday, June 25 at 3pm

The kits

See where Russia's shirts ends up in our ranking of all 64 World Cup shirts below:

What odds are Russia to win the World Cup?

50/1

Who's the coach?

Stanislav Cherchesov. Former Russia goalkeeper and dead ringer for a young Vicente del Bosque has excelled in rescue acts by imposing discipline and organisation.

Who's the star?

Fyodor Smolov. The Krasnodar striker is a late developer but has matured into a tough, nimble scavenger who has been devastating on the counter-attack.

Best thing about them

Hosts always have a puncher’s chance if they can get the bandwagon rolling and deploy their technically accomplished midfielders and forwards on the break.

Worst thing about them

Dreadful recent record, goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev oscillates between Shilton and shonky and they are prone to lapsing into anxious sterility.

Fyodor Smolov trains ahead of Russia's defeat to Austria earlier this year Credit: Reuters

You may recognise…

Former boy wonder Alan Dzagoev stands out for his playmaker’s vision, incisive passing and Dumb and Dumber Lloyd Christmas hairstyle.

Cameramen will be picking out…

Vladimir Putin, naturally, for the same reason all eyes were trained on Nero at the Colosseum - relief at his pleasure, spooked by his displeasure.

Fans' favourite chant

Vperyoood, RossIya! [C’mon, Russia!] and, if true to form, something far more revolting.

On-field prediction

Scrape through a tight group and go out in the round of 16. Enough to save face.

Off-field prediction

Raucous, a disquieting mix of warmth from the majority and volatility from the delinquent.