World Cup 2018 gets going today with the traditional opener involving the hosts as Russia hosts Saudi Arabia. The only host to fail to advance from their group is South Africa in 2010, and in Group A the Russians find themselves in a pretty viable position to get through. Those hopes probably hinge on a win today, which is something you can also say about the Green Falcons, their opponents today.
If you believe the FIFA rankings (which are far from great), the hosts actually have found themselves one of the weakest groups in World Cup history.