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Spain snatched a 2-2 draw against Morocco on Monday to qualify for the World Cup last 16 and take top spot in Group B ahead of Portugal on goals scored.

Morocco striker Khalid Boutaib gave the north African side a shock early lead but Isco levelled, blasting high into the net after a layoff from Andres Iniesta.

Morocco, already eliminated, struck again in the 81st minute when substitute Youssef En-Nesyri crashed in a header which looked set to inflict a first defeat on Spain since Euro 2016.

But substitute Iago Aspas levelled in stoppage-time after consultation from the video assistant referee (VAR), putting Spain top ahead of Portugal, who was held to a 1-1 draw by Iran.

Spain will play Russia in the last 16.

Portugal qualifies for last 16

Portugal qualified for the round of 16 at the World Cup despite being held 1-1 by Iran in the World Cup’s Group B on Monday after Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty.

The European champions, needing a draw to qualify, went ahead with a stunning Ricardo Quaresma goal in the 45th minute.

Ronaldo had a chance to extend the lead when he won a penalty in the 51st minute but Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beiranvand dived to his left to save his effort from the spot.

Karim Ansarifard equalised with a stoppage time penalty awarded after a video review. However, Portugal clung on to finish second in the group with one goal behind Spain, who drew 2-2 with Morocco, and will meet Uruguay in the last 16.

Uruguay tops Group A

Uruguay comfortably beat World Cup hosts Russia 3-0 on Monday to seal top spot in Group A courtesy of a Luis Suarez free kick, a Denis Cheryshev own goal and a late Edinson Cavani strike.

Russia, who had already qualified along with Uruguay for the last 16 after winning its first two games, played much of the match with 10 men after Igor Smolnikov was sent off for two yellow cards after 36 minutes.

Suarez opened the scoring in the 10th minute with his seventh World Cup goal and Uruguay's lead was doubled in the 23rd minute when Diego Laxalt's shot took a wicked deflection off Cheryshev.

Cavani, Suarez's strike partner, sealed the victory to open his World Cup account with a goal from close range after a corner in the 90th minute. 

Russia battled valiantly and had a penalty appeal turned down after a VAR consultation late in the game, but there was little else to cheer the home fans. 

Salah strike not enough

Saudi Arabia managed its first win at the 2018 World Cup by beating Egypt 2-1 with a last-gasp winner that eclipsed Egyptian talisman Mohamed Salah's 22nd minute goal in Monday's Group A game between the two eliminated teams.

Saudi Arabia finished third in the group standings, scoring its only goals of the tournament and vastly improving from the 5-0 thrashing by hosts Russia in its opening game.

It was a bitter disappointment for the Egyptian side, however, with Liverpool striker Salah unable to prevent three consecutive defeats for his country. Egyptian keeper Essam El Hadary became the oldest player ever to appear at a World Cup at 45 years old.

Saudi Arabia got back in the game with a penalty awarded just before halftime and Salman Al Faraj scored from the spot. It then pulled off a win in the 95th minute thanks to Salem Al Dawsari's angled shot. 

Goals from Yerry Mina, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado gave Colombia a convincing 3-0 win on Sunday against Poland, which was eliminated from contention at the World Cup before its last Group H match.

Japan and Senegal, who both picked up wins in their first games, drew 2-2 earlier on Sunday and are in a battle with Colombia to qualify for the knockout stage.

Mina headed home from close range in the 40th minute when midfielder Juan Fernando Quintero caught the Poland defence off guard from a short corner with a smart clipped pass to James Rodriguez who whipped it in first time with his left foot.

Quintero's defence-splitting pass then gave captain Falcao, who missed the 2014 tournament due to injury, his first World Cup goal in the 70th minute, while Rodriguez got his second assist five minutes later when he set up Cuadrado to make it 3-0.

Japan play out thriller

Japan twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Senegal in their World Cup Group H encounter on Sunday.

Goals from Senegal captain Sadio Mane and Moussa Wague were matched by strikes from Takashi Inui and Keisuke Honda for the Samurai Blue.

Senegal took the lead in the 11th minute when Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima punched a cross into Mane's leg and the ball bounced back over the line and in, before Inui's curled finish on 34 minutes meant the sides went in level at the break.

Wague's powerful shot into the roof of the net on 64 minutes looked to have secured the points for Senegal, but Japan substitute Honda turned in a brilliant Inui pull-back with 12 minutes remaining to give the Asian side a share of the points.

The draw means both nations go into the final round of matches on four points at the top of the group.

England marches on

Harry Kane struck a hat-trick as England marched into the last 16 of the World Cup after with a record 6-1 win over a woeful Panama in its World Cup Group G match on Sunday.

The result, a record win for England in a World Cup finals match, means England qualified for the knockout stage with a game to spare, along with Belgium which also has six points. Tournament debutants Panama is eliminated along with Tunisia.

England were 5-0 up at halftime after taking full advantage of a poor Panamanian defence. A header from a corner by John Stones, a penalty from Kane and a beautiful strike from the edge of the box by Jesse Lingard set them on their way.

A Stones header from a well-worked free-kick routine and a second Kane penalty gave them a 5-0 lead going into the break.

The England captain, now the tournament's top scorer with five goals, completed his hat-trick when a shot from Ruben Loftus-Cheek deflected in off the Tottenham forward in the 62nd minute.

Kane became just the third England player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup game following Geoff Hurst in the 1966 final and Gary Lineker against Poland in the 1986 tournament.

Panama pulled a goal back in the 78th minute through Felipe Baloy — the Central American nation's first goal at a World Cup.

England needs to be more clinical if it is to take care of Panama in its second game in Group G and put themselves on the brink of qualification to the knockout stage.

If England beats Panama and Belgium beats or draw with Tunisia then England is through to the last 16.

Gareth Southgate’s side beat Tunisia 2-1 in its opening game but missed a series of first-half chances and needed a stoppage time winner from captain Harry Kane to secure the three points.

Defender John Stones says England has done their homework on Panama and says it is clear where the biggest area for improvement needs to be.

“Being more clinical,” he told reporters, “I think we know how the games are going to play out now and who we are going to play,” he said.

What England has learnt from its study of the Central American side, playing in its first World Cup, is that “Los Canaleros” will aim to play a high-paced, physical game.

Southgate has prided himself on building a team that enjoy pass and movement football. Stones says they will not change that approach because of their opponents.

“It is something we have spoken about and we are going to stick to our game plan. We’re going to cause them as many threats as we can using our own styles of play,” he said.

“That’s credit to the manager and the players we have got because a lot of the players at their clubs never change their style of play in difficult situations, they keep working at it and grind down teams,” he added.

Whoever Southgate opts for can expect a physical battle with Panama’s strapping central defender Roman Torres.

“Football is like that — you always have to impose yourself, you have to mark out your territory,” said the Seattle Sounders defender.

“England is a bit more direct than Belgium. It tries to make use of the pace they have. We’ll need to be compact and limit its space.”

Handed a winning start for the first time in a major tournament for 12 years by captain Harry Kane’s injury-time winner against Tunisia, England can look forward to Sunday’s meeting with Panama with a rare sense of World Cup calm.

A two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner, Kane banished any remaining doubts over his ability to perform on the biggest stage for his country with the first double by an English player at the World Cup since Gary Lineker in 1990.

But Kane’s heroics in Volgograd papered over the cracks of his team-mates’ failure to find the net with a host of simple first-half chances.

Raheem Sterling and Jesse Lingard were particularly culpable and while Kane saved an inquest into England’s profligacy and ponderous second-half performance, Sterling’s place against Panama may now be in jeopardy.

The first media storm of a hitherto relaxed campaign for the Three Lions was brewing on Friday after Gareth Southgate’s planned team was inadvertently revealed when assistant manager Steve Holland’s notes were photographed at training on Thursday.

According to the notes, Marcus Rashford will replace Sterling with Ruben Loftus-Cheek stepping in for Dele Alli, who suffered a thigh injury against Tunisia.

Southgate criticised the media for giving England’s opponents an upper hand.

“If we were to give the opposition the opportunity of having our team it’s a disadvantage to us,” said Southgate.

“So of course our media has to decide if they want to help the team or not.”

In contrast to his 23-goal season at club level for Premier League champions Manchester City, Sterling now has not scored in his last 21 internationals.

However, Rashford refuted suggestions England are too dependent on Kane for goals.

“I don’t think that’s happening in this group,” said the Manchester United striker, who admitted to being an admirer of Kane’s ability to be in the right place at the right time.

“He gets himself in great positions. If we can find him, we will, and, more often than not, he’s going to score.”

At 20, Rashford is just one of a host of exciting young English talents as Southgate took the third youngest squad in the tournament to Russia.

And Holland believes a more clinical touch in front of goal will come with experience.

“It’s psychological, it’s about pushing the players to be match-winners but it is also a process,” he said. “It might just take the time that it takes.

“If you imagine these guys in a couple of years, and I hope I’m still around then, once they’ve become more seasoned at this level, that could be really exciting. It already is now.”

Brazil takes on Costa Rica on Friday needing a win to avoid equalling its worst ever World Cup run, but the focus of its concern is once again not on the team but on one individual — Neymar.

The Paris St Germain player loves the limelight but the attention ahead of Friday’s game in St Petersburg has come for all the wrong reasons.

Neymar was criticised for his performance in Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Switzerland in its opener last weekend. 

He was hunted down mercilessly by the Swiss, drawing ten of Brazil’s 19 fouls, as many as some entire teams.

But he was also below par and showed little sign of the form that made him the world’s most expensive footballer when Paris St Germain signed him from Barcelona last August.

Worse, many fans thought he was playing for himself rather than his country.

“Whenever the ball came to him he slowed the game down, irrespective of whether it was the right thing to do or not,” former France defender Marcel Desailly wrote in The Guardian.

“Because he knows he has the talent to change games, you get the impression Neymar wants to be the one to do that something special. But he has to understand that it’s not like that at international level. He might be the greatest player, but you have to think of the collective.”

Neymar limped out of Tuesday’s training session with a sore ankle, but he is expected to be fit for what could be Brazil’s fourth World Cup match without a win, an unwanted streak that would equal its poorest such run ever, recorded in 1974-1978.

Their opponents in St Petersburg are also desperate for points after they lost their opener to Serbia.

Quarter-finalists four years ago, Costa Rica has lost seven of its last nine matches and scored only five goals in the process. 

That form suggests the five-times world champions should secure the points.

Brazil, though, are not taking anything for granted — with or without Neymar’s undeniable brilliance.

“It is going to be a difficult game as are all games in the World Cup,” said Philippe Coutinho. “They are a good team. We saw the game against Serbia, and it was only decided through a dead ball situation.”

“This is another opportunity for us. We need to do it, we are all focused. We are mentally strong to play a great game.”

Family affair

Celso Borges will follow in his father’s footsteps on Friday when he plays for Costa Rica against Brazil as the family’s World Cup odyssey against the five-time champions continues. 

Borges’ father, Alexandre Guimares, grew up in Brazil until he moved to Costa Rica with his parents when he was young. He would go on to both play for and manage the “Ticos” against Brazil at the World Cup. 

Now, 28 years after his father faced Brazil as a player at Italia 90, it is Celso’s turn to put aside his strong family links to the South Americans in a vital World Cup game.

“I can’t deny it, there is a connection, of course — my connection to Brazil is maybe not as strong as my father’s, but some part of me still feels like it belongs there,” Borges told Reuters in an interview. 

“I’m 100 per cent Costa Rican and I would choose Costa Rica every time, but I cannot deny this family connection. It’s just a very special feeling.” 

The feelings of his father, who managed Costa Rica in a 5-2 loss to Brazil at the 2002 World Cup, may be slightly more mixed when his two nations face off on Friday, however. 

“Of course my father feels Costa Rican, he left Brazil when he was 12, but he has that Brazilian part that is very intense in him,” Borges said. 

“Whenever you play Brazil, in any circumstance, it’s always something special, it’s always something different. 

“It’s the country with the most World Cups, so it’s very different, but it’s still the game, it’s still enjoyable and it’s still fun.” 

Not only has the 30-year-old’s international career taken him in his father’s footsteps, during the last World Cup in Brazil it also took him to Recife, where his father’s parents came from. 

“It was crazy, because that was where we beat Italy and ended up qualifying for the quarter-finals,” Borges recalls. 

That 2014 side hit the headlines by defeating Uruguay and Italy and drawing with England to top its group, before beating Greece on penalties and losing a quarter-final shoot-out to The Netherlands. 

In Russia, however, Costa Rica are already on the back foot having lost to Serbia in their opening game. 

“I don’t think it was clear that any team deserved to win that game, but sometimes football is very complex — there’s a very thin line between winning and losing,” Borges said. 

The Costa Ricans would not fall into the trap of focusing all their defensive efforts on Neymar, the midfielder said. 

“If you concentrate too much on one guy, they can just put on another in attack, so you just have to be very organised, have good communication and marking. You can have everything planned but with this kind of player, it’s tough.”

Even with a decent result on Friday Costa Rica face an uphill task in its final group game against a Swiss side that drew 1-1 with Brazil in their Group E opener, but Borges said the squad could still advance to the knockout rounds. 

“We Costa Ricans are capable of great things when we join together and stay tight. I always think there’s a possibility,” he said. 

Spain squeezed 1-0 past dogged Iran in their World Cup Group B encounter on Wednesday thanks to a fortuitous goal from Diego Costa, but the Europeans suffered a string of second-half scares.

The veteran forward notched his third goal in two games when Ramin Rezaeian's attempted clearance bounced off the Spaniard's leg and into the net in the 54th minute.

Costa, who grabbed a brace in the 3-3 draw against Portugal, was in the right spot at the right time, his lucky deflection leaving the masses of Iran fans at Kazan Arena groaning in disappointment.

Though Spain had besieged the Iranian goal in the first half, they were on the back foot for parts of the second, with Karim Ansarifard rifling into the side netting, and Saeid Ezatolahi having a goal ruled out for offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system.

The result left Spain joint top of their group with Portugal on four points, but Iran close behind on three going into the third and final set of games. After two defeats, Morocco are out.

After a match played out to a deafening blare from vuvuzela horns from a huge army of Iranian fans, Spain will feel relieved to have emerged with maximum points.

Iran were brilliant in defence for much of the night but also made a number of telling incursions.

Saudi Arabia out

Luis Suarez marked his 100th international cap by sending Uruguay into the last 16 of the World Cup as the striker benefited from some poor goalkeeping to eliminate Saudi Arabia with a 1-0 win on Wednesday.

Suarez tapped in midway through the first half after keeper Mohammed Al Owais failed to grab the ball on a corner. The goal put Uruguay second in Group A with a maximum six points behind hosts Russia.

Saudi Arabia, who have not won a World Cup game since their debut in 1994, have zero points, just like Egypt, who lost 3-1 to Russia on Tuesday.

Depending on the result of their last group game against Russia, Uruguay will take on either Spain, Portugal or Iran, who are still on course in Group B for a place in the quarter-finals.

Suarez's goal was by no means pretty, but it did the trick.

At least Suarez, who missed three sitters in Uruguay's 1-0 opening win against Egypt, was his vintage efficient self with his 52nd international goal although he will not have dismissed fears he was not 100 per cent fit.

Saudi Arabia, who suffered a minor scare when an engine on their plane caught fire before landing on Rostov-on-Don on Monday, instead have not found the back of the net in their last four World Cup outings.

The stadium burst into life in the 23rd minute however, when an unmarked Suarez coolly tapped into an empty net from a corner kick after keeper Owais came out but misjudged his jump and couldn't reach the ball.

Suarez has now scored in three consecutive World Cups.

Morocco's hopes end

Cristiano Ronaldo powered-home a fourth-minute header to give Portugal a 1-0 World Cup victory over Morocco that took them top of Group B on Wednesday and meant the unlucky North African side become the first to be eliminated from the tournament.

Ronaldo's fourth goal of Russia 2018, following his hat-trick in the 3-3 draw with Spain, took the European champions to four points.

Morocco, who had a real go at the Luzhniki Stadium but failed to convert their chances, are pointless having also lost 1-0 to Iran and cannot progress to the second round.

Despite their battling display, Morocco will rue the unforgivable defending that made all their subsequent good work irrelevant.

They qualified for the finals without conceding a goal in six matches yet somehow opted against marking the most dangerous attacker at the tournament in the six yard box when Joao Moutinho swung in a cross from a short corner and Ronaldo duly buried the header.

It was his 85th international goal, taking him beyond Hungarian Ferenc Puskas's European record, with only Iran's Ali Daei ahead of him on 109.

Portugal held out and go on to complete their first-round against Iran while Morocco face Spain, both on June 25.

World Cup hosts Russia kept up their free-scoring ways to move to the brink of a second round place with a 3-1 beat over Egypt in their Group A match at the Saint Petersburg Stadium on Tuesday.

Russia’s place in the knockout stages will be secured on Wednesday if Uruguay avoid defeat against Saudi Arabia in the next Group A game.

Ahmed Fathi put the ball into his own net two minutes after halftime, followed by two goals in a three minute spell from Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba around the hour mark as Russia took their tournament goal tally to eight in two games.

Egyptian talisman Mohamed Salah, playing for the first time since injuring his shoulder in last month’s Champions League final, pulled one back from a 73rd minute penalty, awarded after a review by the video assistant referee.

Senegal became the first African team to win a match at the 2018 World Cup on Tuesday when they beat Poland 2-1, helped by two shocking errors in the European side’s defence.

Poland defender Thiago Cionek stuck out a leg and deflected Idrissa Gueye’s wayward shot into the net in the 37th minute before goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny rushed recklessly out of his area and allowed M’Baye Niang to nip in and score into an empty net on the hour.

Szczesny may have been caught out because Niang was having treatment on the touchline and reentered the pitch as the ball was played backwards to the Poland goalkeeper by Grzegorz Krychowiak.

Krychowiak headed Poland’s goal in the 86th minute.

The win took Senegal top of Group H with three points, along with Japan who also beat Colombia by the same score on Tuesday. Colombia and Poland are both without a point.

It was a relief for Africa after Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia all lost their opening games.

Poland’s record scorer Robert Lewandowski got little change out of a well-drilled Senegal defence, led by Kalidou Koulibaly, and they sorely missed key defender Kamil Glik, still recovering from a training injury sustained two weeks ago.

“I’m satisfied with my players, really proud of them. I think they arrived with a lot of determination, they have worked hard,” said Senegal coach Aliou Cisse. “I think it is really a generation that deserves a lot of credit and respect.”

The first half hour was a sorry affair strewn with misplaced passes from both sides and neither of the danger men, Lewandowski and Senegal’s Sadio Mane, saw much of the ball.

The first shot on target produced the first goal as Senegal went ahead in the 37th minute.

Niang won a challenge with Lukasz Piszczek, burst down the left and found Mane who in turn slipped the ball to Gueye.

The midfielder’s shot appeared to be going wide until the hapless Cionek stuck out a leg and deflected it past Szczesny.

Lewandowski sprang into life five minutes after halftime as he won possession, burst clear and was up-ended by Salif Sane. He took the free kick himself and although he managed Poland’s first shot on target, it was saved by Khadim N’Diaye.

Poland appeared to be coming back into the game until the most embarrassing moment of the World Cup so far.

Krychowiak sent a long ball back from deep inside the Senegal half, Szczesny rushed out of his area to collect the pass but Niang stole in to score to Polish disbelief.

Krychowiak partially made amends with his goal but it was too late for the disappointing Poles.

“Second goal — I do not know,” said Poland defender Michal Pazdan. “The player ran in, he was behind the side line of the pitch. There are no such situations on a daily basis.

“But it does not change the fact that we lacked concentration at the beginning of the second half, because it seems that we could have played a different game, if they hadn’t scored the second.”

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia — Sweden won an opening World Cup game for the first time since 1958 with a narrow 1-0 victory over South Korea, but they will need to find their shooting boots if they are to match their two other, trickier opponents in Group F.

After dominating the game but missing a string of chances, the Swedes won a 65th-minute penalty when Kim Min-woo brought down Viktor Claesson in the box. Salvadoran referee Joel Aguilar initially waved the Swedes away, before being called to consult the Video Assistant Referee system.

In the second VAR-awarded penalty of the World Cup, Sweden's 33-year-old captain Andreas Granqvist swept the ball low and left of impressive goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo.

"The VAR took a while but we are very pleased they had it ... I was pretty sure," Granqvist said of the wait.

The result brought wild celebrations from hordes of yellow-clad Swedish fans, fearful their team would draw another blank after failing to score in their last three games.

Sweden had not won an opening World Cup game since 1958, when they were the hosts and eventual runners-up.

The Asians began the game brighter, harrying for the first 15 minutes against an initially sluggish-looking Sweden.

But the Scandinavians quickly found their poise, coping comfortably with Korea's attacks despite the absence of defender Victor Lindelof through illness.

Swedish coach Janne Andersson said the penalty was "crystal-clear", adding: "I felt the wait for VAR was unnecessary".

Son versus Forsberg

In a game short on finesse, several of Sweden's best chances fell to Marcus Berg, who had one close-range side-foot shot spectacularly saved by Cho off his knee in the 21st minute.

"We played the match the way we intended, but I'm a little unhappy with the chances we didn't put away," added Andersson.

Both teams' star players provided their creative drive, Son Heung-min trying to drive Korea forward from the left flank but again failing to have the same impact on the international stage as he does in the Premier League.

For Sweden, the pacy Emil Forsberg constantly fed the frontmen, and also curled a shot over from outside the box.

Korea's best chances fell to Koo Ja-cheol, who headed just wide in the second half and Hwang Hee-chan who saw his stoppage-time header also just miss during a late, desperate siege.

The Asians' coach Shin Tae-yong had no complaints about the penalty, and praised his team's battle with Sweden for aerial superiority. "It was unfortunate we lost," he lamented, saying he was now focused on the next game against "formidable" Mexico, who stunned world champions Germany 1-0 in the other Group F opener.

Though not the most attractive of games, there was a terrific atmosphere in the 42,300-strong crowd at the blue-and-white Nizhny Novgorod stadium next to a cathedral at the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers.

The Swedes, many in de rigueur Viking helmets, easily outnumbered and out-sang their red-clad rivals in the avant-garde, sun-kissed dome built to evoke wind and water.

Sweden go into their game against Germany with confidence. "If we win against Germany, we are through. The pressure is on them," said the ebullient Granqvist.

Few will be giving a chance of progressing to Korea, who have now only won one of their last 10 World Cup games.

A stunning volley from Dries Mertens and a Romelu Lukaku double broke the resistance of a brave Panama side on their World Cup debut as Belgium cruised to a 3-0 win in their opening Group G game in Sochi.

Mertens hammered home a superb volley two minutes into the second half, sending the ball arcing over Jaime Penedo after Panama struggled to clear a cross.

Lukaku’s hard work up front was rewarded when the Manchester United striker headed home Kevin De Bruyne’s brilliant pass off the outside off his foot to make it 2-0 in the 69th minute and the big striker latched on to an Eden Hazard pass to complete the scoring with a neat finish.

England beat Tunisia 2-1 in the day’s late match.

MOSCOW — Russia launched the World Cup in emphatic style on Thursday when it outclassed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the tournament's opening match to end a nine-month winless run and give the host nation's team and fans the lift they desperately needed.

Substitute Denis Cheryshev scored twice — the first after a piece of skill that would have graced a Lionel Messi highlights reel — and the second a superb shot in stoppage time.

Yury Gazinsky had headed the World Cup's first goal after 12 minutes, Artem Dzyuba got the third a minute after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute and Aleksandr Golovin completed a memorable day by smashing in free kick with the last action of the game.

The result equalled the best-ever in a World Cup opening game — Brazil beat Mexico 5-0 in Geneva in 1954 — as Russia took full advantage of a Saudi team who is defending fell painfully short of World Cup standard, while its attack was non-existent.

Russia's fans will not care about that after enduring a wretched run of seven games without a win, but they will be aware that the Asian qualifiers look desperately ill-equipped to trouble Egypt or group favourites Uruguay, who meet tomorrow, and that there is still much to be done for the host to secure progress to the knockout stage.

Russia looked lively from the start as they poured into the vast spaces on both flanks and it was no surprise when they opened the scoring after 12 minutes as Gazinsky was totally unmarked to nod home Golovin's deep left-wing cross.

The home crowd, starved of any meaningful action for the last two years, were loving it as the red shirts poured forward with only some desperate defending preventing star striker Fyodor Smolov from adding a second.

Alan Dzagoev had been at the heart of things but had to go off after pulling a hamstring in the 23rd minute. It proved something of a fortuitous situation — if not for him — as his replacement Cheryshev doubled the lead with a mesmerising touch of skill.

Collecting a pass from Roman Zobnin on the left of the box he showed great composure to nonchalantly flick the ball inches above two prone defenders desperately sliding in, before lashing into the roof of the net.

Russia made it 3-0 in the 71st minute when Golovin chipped in a cross for giant striker Dzyuba to rise unchallenged to head in from close range.

The crowd were then treated to a fabulous finale as Cheryshev cleverly steered home the fourth with the outside of his foot before Golovin capped a great personal performance by curling his free kick beyond the wall to get the month-long Moscow party well and truly started.

Russia declared the football World Cup open at a glitzy ceremony in Moscow headlined by British pop star Robbie Williams and Russian soprano Aida Garifullina.

The 15-minute show produced by Russia's state Channel One broke from World Cup tradition, focusing on musical acts, including a performance of Pyotr Tchaikovsky in front of full stands at the capital's main Luzhniki Stadium.

Iker Casillas and Russian supermodel and philanthropist Natalia Vodianova brought the World Cup trophy onto the pitch in a Louis Vuitton travel case.

Robbie Williams performed hits "Let Me Entertain You" and "Rock DJ" accompanied by dancers and freestylers.

He was joined in a duet by Garifullina, a soloist from the Vienna State Opera, who entered the pitch on a firebird, singing Williams' hit song "Angels".

MOSCOW ― FIFA members will decide on Wednesday whether the 2026 World Cup should be played in North America or return to Africa for just the second time, in Morocco.

The choice is clear — between a slick bid based on gleaming stadiums in the United States, Mexico and Canada or an ambitious attempt from Morocco based on largely unbuilt facilities.

On the eve of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, 207 FIFA member nations will cast their vote in a congress of world football’s governing body.

Morocco’s bid for 2026 was only cleared to advance to the runoff vote earlier this month, despite a FIFA evaluation report which classified the north African nation’s stadia, accommodation and transport as “high risk”.

The report left the US-Canada-Mexico bid as the clear front-runner after giving it a rating of four out of a possible five.

Morocco received only 2.7 out of five, but advanced despite red flags being raised over several critical components of the bid.

A FIFA summary of the bid task force’s findings warned that “the amount of new infrastructure required for the Morocco 2026 bid to become reality cannot be overstated”.

Referendum on Trump?

But the North American bid has been dogged by concerns that the vote could become a referendum on the popularity of US President Donald Trump.

On Monday, bid leader Carlos Cordeiro repeated a message he has hammered out again and again in recent months ― vote on us, not Trump.

“We believe strongly that this decision will be made on its merits,” Cordeiro said in a conference call with reporters. “This is not geopolitics, we’re talking about football and what is fundamentally, at the end of the day, the best interest of football and our footballing community... We’ve had no backlash.”

The US lost out to Qatar in 2022 in a vote now tarnished by corruption allegations which spelled the beginning of the end of the once all-powerful FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Critics of the Morocco bid also point to the fact that the 2026 World Cup will be the first to be expanded to 48 teams, posing a severe test for the hosts.

Fourth time lucky?

But the north Africans are still considered to be in with a genuine chance.

It has tried, and failed, four times before, in votes for the 1994, 1998, 2006 and 2010 tournaments ― it lost out in the latter to South Africa, the only African nation ever to have hosted football’s global showpiece.

Morocco has the support of many European countries, attracted by its geographical proximity, and most of Africa, in line with a call from the head of the Confederation of African Football, Ahmad Ahmad.

But two English-speaking African countries, Liberia and South Africa, have defected to the North America bid.

Morocco’s bid leader Moulay Hafid Elalamy says the bid is based on the “fervour for football in the country and the entire African continent” and promises all the host cities will be less than an hour’s flight apart.

North American bid leaders countered by promising to deliver a record $11 billion profit.

Cordeiro said: “Our vision is a very simple one. We offer FIFA an unprecedented united opportunity to stage the 2026 World Cup. We believe strongly that this decision will be made on its merits.”

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is believed to strongly support the North American bid because the three countries involved backed him for the presidency in 2016 when he took over after the reign of Blatter, who is being investigated in Switzerland for alleged corruption.

Although the FIFA evaluation report clearly assessed North America as the superior bid, it was not necessarily a knockout blow for Morocco.

In 2010, a FIFA evaluation committee flagged Qatar’s bid for 2022 as “a health risk for players, spectators, officials” over ferocious heat in the Gulf state in June and July.

Qatar duly won the vote in a shock result in Zurich; FIFA later moved the tournament to November and December 2022.

The corruption-tainted nature of the 2010 vote prompted FIFA to overhaul its bidding process for the World Cup.

Whereas previously the 24 members of the FIFA executive committee used to determine World Cup races, now the hosts will be decided by a vote of 207 individual FIFA member nations.