World Cup preview: Group A

With football's 2018 World Cup soon to kick off, attention is now directly focused on the relative strengths of the teams. In Group A, faltering tournament host Russia is hoping to benefit from what is seen as a favourable draw. But its group opponents -- a former world champion, the seven-time champion of Africa and a returning Asian powerhouse -- hope to make life at home difficult for the men wearing red.

Defender Ilya Kutepov (C) of the Russian men's national footbal Source: Getty