The 2018 World Cup is underway. CBS Sports will have you covered for each game, all the important news and more, as well as profiles of all of the teams.
Russia delivered a spirited performance in the 2018 World Cup, winning two group stage matches with ease to advance to the knockouts. There, they managed a stunning upset of Spain in penalty kicks to get to the quarterfinals. Alas, it was PKs that did them in against Croatia, eliminating them from the tournament.
Here's everything you need to know about the team, led by coach Stanislav Cherchesov.
Competition history
World Cup appearances: Four
Best finish: Group stage
Last World Cup: 2014, finishing 24th
Matches
Thursday, June 14: Russia 5, Saudi Arabia 0
Tuesday, June 19: Russia 3, Egypt 1
Monday, June 25: Uruguay 3, Russia 0
Sunday, July 1: Russia 1, Spain 1 (Russia wins 4-3 in penalty kicks) in round of 16
Saturday, July 7: Croatia 2, Russia 2 (Croatia wins 4-3 in penalty kicks) in quarterfinals
Roster
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Gabulov (Brugge), Soslan Dzhanaev (Rubin Kazan), Andrei Lunev (Zenit St. Petersburg).
Defenders: Vladimir Granat, Ruslan Kambolov, Fedor Kudryashov (all Rubin Kazan), Ilya Kutepov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Fenerbahce), Konstantin Rausch (Dynamo Moscow), Andrei Semenov (Akhmat Grozny), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Mario Fernandes (CSKA Moscow).
Midfielders: Yuri Gazinsky (Krasnodar), Alexander Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Alexander Erokhin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Yuri Zhirkov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Daler Kuzyaev (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Zobnin (Spartak Moscow), Alexander Samedov (Spartak Moscow), Anton Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Alexander Tashaev (Dynamo Moscow), Denis Cheryshev (Villareal).
Strikers: Artem Dzyuba (Arsenal Tula), Alexei Miranchuk (Lokomotiv Moscow), Fyodor Smolov (Krasnodar), Fyodor Chalov (CSKA Moscow).
Best Player
It's goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. The captain, at 32 years old, has 104 caps and should shatter the national team's cap record of 120 before too long. The CSKA Moscow legend has good size, quick reactions and plays smart. He'll have to be in tip-top form for his country to get through the group stage.
Player to watch
Denis Cheryshev. The winger is arguably the most talented played on the team, and Real Madrid saw that back in 2002 when they signed him into their youth ranks. Though he never really was able to make an impact at Real, he showed flashes on loan and Villarreal and Valencia. Now with Villarreal fully, he hasn't stayed healthy but when he is, he is a creative force that can turn a game at any moment. A Russia national team without him doesn't feel like one that can do much, but with him and if he plays like he can, they can make a little run.
For a complete calendar of World Cup matches in Spanish, visit our sister site, CNET.com.
