With these two expected to be chasing Uruguay for second place in the group, this game was probably the most important for either side. Russia had opened the tournament well, thrashing a poor Saudi Arabia side, while Egypt narrowly missed out on a draw against Uruguay, conceding a last minute header by Jose Gimenez.
Those starting results made this game even more important for Egypt, who chose to start star man Mohamed Salah, having kept him on the bench for their opener. Salah replacing Amr Warda was their only change, whereas Russia brought in Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba for Fyodor Smolov and the injured Alan Dzagoev, with Aleksandr Golovkin starting central behind the forward.
Varying 4-2-3-1s
Both teams lined up in what looked like the same formation on paper, but varied a lot in practice. Russias 4-2-3-1 was the standard we are used to seeing, with the central attacking midfielder Golovkin up alongside striker Dzyuba in front of two banks of four. The pair would stand in front of Egypts holding midfielders to block passes from the centre-backs into their feet, while whichever man was nearest would apply some pressure onto the centre-back on the ball Golovkin on Ali Gabr and Dzyuba on Ahmed Hegazy. The midfielders behind them would stay narrow enough so that the wingers could press the Egyptian holding midfielders if either of them managed to escape the cover of the strikers when they pressed.
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