The last time Stanislav Cherchesov walked out at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to face Fernando Hierro's side, the Spaniards were heavy favourites but the Russians reached the next round.
Hosts Russia were drawn on Saturday in Group A at next year's Confederations Cup along with Portugal, Mexico and New Zealand.
Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov was in bullish mood ahead of their final Group A showdown with Uruguay on Monday, dismissing suggestions his men under pressure because of their status as World Cup hosts.
When Russia and Saudi Arabia meet on Thursday form will be irrelevant as the world's biggest sporting festival explodes into life in Moscow.
World Cup hosts Russia turned in another unconvincing display as Austria extended their winless run stretching back to October with a 1-0 victory in a friendly on Wednesday.
Fedor Smolov's 20th-minute goal gave Russia their first win under new coach Stanislav Cherchesov as the 2018 World Cup hosts overcame Ghana 1-0 in a friendly in Moscow on Tuesday.
World Cup hosts Russia have been fuelled by the criticism they received before the tournament, midfielder Anton Miranchuk said on Sunday as the team prepared for their second group match against Egypt.
Stanislav Cherchesov is getting the big graffiti treatment in Russia after coaching the home team to the second round of the World Cup for the first time in 32 years.
Despite Saturday's defeat, Russians have been celebrating, proud of a campaign which saw their players reach the last eight after starting out as the lowest-ranked team in the tournament.
Despite being without key performer Kevin De Bruyne, world number one ranked Belgium were rarely in trouble against a Russia side that struggled to impose themselves.
A restaurant in St Petersburg has struck a chord with the hordes of soccer fans in town for the World Cup by serving up pizzas featuring the faces of some of the tournament's biggest stars.
Russia face Egypt in their second match in St Petersburg on Tuesday after a resounding 5-0 victory over the Saudis that has catapulted them to the top of Group A, ahead of Uruguay on goal difference.
Russia got their World Cup campaign off to a dream start with a 5-0 thumping of Saudi Arabia but face an entirely different beast in the form of Egypt, who should be revitalised by the return of their talismanic striker Mohamed Salah.
Russian made amends for their opening loss to Belgium as the group remains wide open.
Hosts Russia have exceeded expectations after advancing to the World Cup quarter-finals with a win on penalties over Spain but they will need more firepower if they are to give Croatia a run for their money on Saturday.
roaring Luzhniki Stadium crowd, dogged defending and a dose of Russian luck saw the World Cup hosts to a penalty shootout victory over Spain on Sunday, though for some it also took divine intervention.
A Russian comic's song which mocks the country's World Cup team and questions the financial sense of hosting the event has gone viral on the eve of the tournament, angering some fans and politicians.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
Spain fell victim to own patience and Russian resistance
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
The Germans will play their group matches in Munich
Russia's World Cup dream ended within agonising sight of the semi-finals as they went down 4-3 on penalties to Croatia on Saturday after another gallant performance in front of their fanatical fans which again belied their lowly ranking.
The favourites to win next year's World Cup in Russia were given navigable paths to the last 16 with the coaches of Germany, Brazil, Argentina and Spain having reason to feel reasonably optimistic after Friday's draw.
Silva struck twice in the second half to further stretch the 2010 World Cup winners' lead after Barcelona's Jordi Alba had fired them into the lead in the sixth minute and Alvaro Morata had doubled their advantage midway through the first half.
World champions Germany drew 1-1 with Spain in a high tempo friendly on Friday as they launched their preparations for a title defence in Russia while their opponents had striker Diego Costa making his long-awaited comeback as a substitute.
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