FIFA Fever: All eyes on Ronaldo tonight. Boa sorte, Portugal!

After a wait of four years, the game is finally on! FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 got off to a rousing start last night amid the roar of an 80,000-strong crowd. British singer Robbie Williams enthralled the crowd with a medley of his hit songs. He was joined by soprano Aida Garifullina. Accompanying them were several dancers in outlandish costumes. After the very colourful, and thankfully, short opening ceremony, Russian and Saudi footballers took over the field. 

Loudly cheered on by the home crowd, Russia kicked off its World Cup campaign with a 5-0 win, thus keeping alive the tradition of the host team never losing the opening match. The opening goal of the tournament was scored by Yuri Gazinsky in the 12th minute. Substitute player Denis Cheryshev scored two goals, while another substitute player Artem Dzyuba also scored for Russia and so did Aleksandr Golovin. 

Football fans in India can catch all the action live on television – Sony Ten 2/HD in English and Sony Ten 3/HD in Hindi, as well as 4 other language feeds; and on digital with SonyLIV, the official Mobile and Internet broadcaster of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. Viewers can now enjoy all the sporting action on their personal devices anywhere, anytime with SonyLIV’s ‘Super Sports’ pack at just Rs 199 for 6 months. 

Day 2 of the tournament today will see 6 teams in battle. Egypt take on Uruguay in the second Group A match. The match will air at 5.30 pm (IST). Uruguay is definitely the stronger team with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani leading the charge under the captainship of Diego Godin. Uruguay has won the FIFA World Cup twice earlier – in 1930 and 1950. However, the team hasn’t gone beyond the 4th place after that. 

On the other hand, this is the third time that Egypt is taking part in the FIFA World Cup, the earlier occasions being in 1934 and 1990. Egypt is depending heavily on the injury-stricken Mohamed Salah. 

So, will it be a cakewalk for Uruguay? Watch the match at 5.30 pm today. 

Morocco will face Iran in the second match of the day at 8.30 pm. While not much is expected from Morocco, Iran could pack in some surprises. The team has played at the FIFA World Cup on four occasions earlier – in 1978, 1998, 2006 and 2014. Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Sardar Azmoun are the ones to watch out for. 

But the clash that all are looking forward to is Portugal versus Spain. Portugal is making its seventh appearance at the FIFA World Cup, having participated earlier in 1966, 1986, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2014. The highest position secured by Portugal is third place in 1966. Cristiano Ronaldo is the man with the Golden Boots, who can lead the team to the elusive FIFA World Cup trophy that Portugal is so looking for, and the team looks strong under his captainship as well as the guidance of coach Fernando Santos. Besides, Bernando Silva, the playmaker for Portugal, is also expected to have an important role. 

But dare to write off Spain at your own peril. As Wikipedia informs, the team is one of the most present at the World Cup finals, with 14 appearances out of the 20 tournaments. Spain were the FIFA champions in 2010 and scoring the winning goal was Andres Iniesta. Well, Iniesta is still around to carry Spain to another World Cup win, and he has some formidable support from Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Marco Asensio and Saul Niguez. Besides, Spain has some psychological edge over Portugal, having defeated the team 1-0 in 2010 on the way to be World Cup champions. 

Can’t wait to watch this match at 11.30 pm tonight. Have you made up your mind yet on whom to cheer? 

While the action on the field lasts for 90 minutes, the reverberations continue throughout the day and night as football fans and game experts analyse the finer nuances of each goal, penalty corner, pass, dribble, save at the goalpost, missed opportunities and more. 

Official broadcaster of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018, Sony Pictures Networks India is ready with a show called ‘Football Extraa’, where renowned Indian and international footballers like Sunil Chhetri, Bhaichung Bhutia, Gurpreet Singh, Robin Singh, Luis Garcia, Louis Saha and David James will discuss the finer aspects of the matches. 

And for all you Stat Rats out there, here’s FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 in numbers: 

32 Teams

736 Players

64 Matches

12 Stadiums

24 Goal Posts

3,240 Balls

1,473 Jerseys

32 Coaches

99 Referees

1 Trophy