Recently, a French news agency surveyed Russian people and gave surprising results: Few people believe that the Russian team will win the 2018 World Cup, even half of the participants from the host country said they do not plan to watch even one World Cup match.
The Public opinion Foundation surveyed more deeply and also gave some unimpressive figures. 43% said they would not watch a match at the World Cup.
86% of those in the football watch group believe Russia can pass the group stage. But only 4% of those surveyed believe Russia will win the championship - even though the team plays at home.
Why don't Russia dare to award the 2018 World Cup to their national team? Perhaps because the history of Russian football has left too many "failures".
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this is the 4th time the Russian team has participated in the World Cup. However, the Russian has never advanced beyond the group stage.
Russia has been given a special chance to go straight to the final round as host at the 2018 World Cup. In the last 7 friendly matches, the Russian team also did not know the victory, losing 4 matches and drawing 3 matches. The talents of Russian football in their average form make fans remember their former glory in the Soviet Union even more than expecting a miracle for the host country.
In fact, the Russian people have little expectation for the 2018 World Cup team. Most people think that the home team's victory in the group stage is a great success.
If tonight (22:00 on June 14, Vietnam time), Russia does not beat Saudi Arabia - a weak team... like itself in the opening match, Russia will hardly beat anyone else! It also means: the possibility of Russia's competition with the remaining two opponents in Group A, Uruguay and Egypt, is extremely fragile.
The only time they met was in 1993, Russia beat Saudi Arabia 4-2. In this rematch, the home team is still in a good position from within, at home, at home and at the refereeing factor. Many predicted: Russia could conquer Saudi Arabia with a close score - one goal away.