It was said Russia would struggle to make an impact at their own World Cup but thanks in part to the CSKA midfielder, the hosts are off to a flyer
They said if Russia were going to have any chance of progressing from Group A then two things would have to happen.
One, three points had to be obtained in their first match against Saudi Arabia. Two, Aleksandr Golovin was going to have to show up.
And on those two counts things went exceptionally well for the coach Stanislav Cherchesov and his team.
There’s dampening down expectations and then there’s dragging a team’s expectations so low that avoiding a hammering feels like a result.