The debuts were done when Poland and Senegal became the final teams to begin their 2018 World Cups, kicking off today at 8:00 a.m. PT. Now, with every team having one result under their belts, we have to start worrying about one of the most tedious parts of the tournament: The knockout-round scenarios.
That was the subtext to Egypt’s loss in Saint Petersburg to Russia, who, with their 3-1 win, ran their record to 2-0-0 with an impressive plus-seven goal difference. They’re practically into the knockout round, just like Egypt (0-2-0) are practically eliminated, with both teams' almost-there scenarios leaving out language highly impractical.