ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) - Two wins, eight goals and almost certainly a place in the knockout stage for first time since the Soviet era.
Russia on brink of last 16 at World Cup, beats Egypt 3-1
Russia is enjoying quite the party at its own World Cup - and not even the highly anticipated return of Mohamed Salah could slow it down on Tuesday.
Confounding grim pre-tournament predictions, the host nation earned a second straight emphatic victory to start the group stage by beating Egypt 3-1. Having already routed Saudi Arabia 5-0, Russia is likely to be celebrating a spot in the round of 16 by Wednesday evening and few could have seen that happening so soon.