EURO 2016 TEAM PREVIEW: GROUP B - RUSSIA

Tip: Early exit

Cult hero: Sergei Ignashevich is a voracious reader who puts forward authors like adventurer Jack London as his inspiration and, boy, does it show. His fountain of youth displays for Russia has seen him coast past the ton mark, while he loves goals too despite playing way back in defence.

Star player: Artem Dzyuba bagged eight goals in qualifying, nonetheless Igor Smolnikov is a fine operator who has made a big difference to the Russian defence. His switch from Krasnodar to Zenit Saint Petersburg has been the making of him, his forays up and down the right flank crucial to the team’s fortunes. If he can maintain his recent level of form, he will be a constant danger.

Player to watch: Whether he gets enough time or not on the field this summer, attacking midfielder Alexander Golovin could eventually eclipse the likes of Valeri Karpin and Andrey Arshavin when it comes to all-time Russian cult figures. Two goals in his first three games for the senior side cutting in from the left suggest he’s got what it takes to help Russia sneak into the knockout stages.

How they qualified: Fabio Capello did his level best to sabotage their qualification with highly questionable selections and tactics, however CSKA Moscow coach Leonid Slutsky managed to get them back on track in Group G with six wins and two draws sneaking them past Sweden for second place.

Line-up prediction: Akinfeev, Smolnikov, Ignashevich, V Berezutski, Schennikov, Samedov, Yusupov, Mamaev, Shatov, Smolov, Dzyuba