어느 정도의 홈 이점을 안고 싸울것이라는 전망을 했지만 본선 32개국 가운데 국제축구연맹(FIFA)이 최하위인 러시아(70위)가 5골을 폭발시킬 것이라고는 예상치 못했다.
It was predicted that Russia would fight with some home advantage, but it was not expected that Russia (70th), the lowest-ranked country among the 32 in FIFA, would score explosive five goals.