04:59
Move on, nothing to see here. Please disperse. Nothing to see here.
A ball hasn’t even been kicked yet but already the 2018 Fifa World Cup is going off like a fireworks factory blown up by a military grade ballistic missile. Four years of waiting and then on the day before Robbie Williams and the host nation kick off the tournament, this happens.
Shortly after that Spanish bombshell, and despite some unhelpful interventions from Donald Trump, this happened, much to the delight of the United peoples of North America. Then this, perhaps unsurprisingly. A finally, this, sadly. Oh and there was this too.
Ah, the World Cup, it’s nothing if not entertaining away from the pitch. But this is just the beginning. There are four weeks of this to look forward to now. Plus there’ll be a bit of football, I imagine.
Yes, actual football. There will definitely be some later today, when hosts Russia open their campaign against Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Once the opening ceremony, featuring the aforementioned popster (who has been accused of selling his soul in agreeing to perform), is done and dusted, kick off is 6pm local, 4pm BST, 1am (Friday) AEST or 11am EDT.
Some housekeeping before we dive head first into it all: this daily blog will run until an hour before the first game of the day kicks off. Then, it’s over to the new, match-specific liveblog(s) to see the day through. And that’s how we’ll roll pretty much every day for the next four weeks. It’s a liveblogger’s dream/nightmare scenario, depending on how how deep into the tournament we are, one assumes.
Comments below the line are on, but if you wanted to get in touch on email you can do on mike.hytner@theguardian.com, or even Twitter @mike_hytner, if that’s your bag, until my colleague in London, Simon Burnton, takes over in about three hours’ time.
It’s a world event, so Google translate has been bookmarked and will be a good friend over the coming weeks. With that in mind, добро пожаловать! Пойдем!
The Russia World Cup 2018 is just hours away now. Here's our guide on how to watch every second of the action - a feast of pretty much non-stop football.
Last December's draw put England in Group G with Belgium, Tunisia and Panama and the good news is that all three of the games have been scheduled at sociable times. You can hear the sighs of relief from office bosses all around the country.
The full World Cup 2018 fixture schedule is included below, with timings, venues and TV channels included.
All times BST. Local times are BST +2 apart from games played in Kaliningrad (+1), Samara (+3) and Ekaterinburg (+4).
Group stages
Thursday 14 June
Russia vs Saudi Arabia (Group A) - Moscow (Luzhniki) - 4pm - ITV
Friday 15 June
Egypt vs Uruguay (Group A) - Ekaterinburg - 1pm - BBC
Morocco vs Iran (Group B) - St Petersburg - 4pm - ITV
Portugal vs Spain (Group B) - Sochi - 7pm - BBC
Saturday 16 June
France vs Australia (Group C) - Kazan - 11am - BBC
Argentina vs Iceland (Group D) - Moscow (Spartak) - 2pm - ITV
Peru vs Denmark (Group C) - Saransk - 5pm - BBC
The 2018 FIFA World Cup is right around the corner. In just about three days, the greatest soccer players on the planet will take center stage in Russia. The tournament returns to Europe for the first time since it was held in Germany in 2006, and there's no shortage of storylines. Is this the year that Lionel Messi finally wins the only major trophy missing in his list of career achievements? It's been a 32-year drought for Argentina. Like Messi, who was not born the last time the Albiceleste lifted the World Cup trophy, the window may be closing for Cristiano Ronaldo, who will try to power Portugal, the 2016 Euro winners, to another title. What about Neymar, who is recovering from a broken foot? Will he be fit to lead a promising Brazil team to its sixth World Cup title?
The hosts will get the party underway on June 14 against Saudi Arabia, and on July 15 a new world champion will be crowned.
Fox and Telemundo have the TV rights for this edition of the World Cup, which means games will air on Fox, Fox Sports 1 in English and on Telemundo and NBC Universo in Spanish. You can stream all World Cup games in English or Spanish on fuboTV (Try for free).
Below you'll find the complete schedule, scores and TV listings for this summer's tournament:
When: June 14 through July 15
June 14 through July 15 English-speaking TV: Fox and Fox Sports 1
Fox and Fox Sports 1 Spanish-speaking TV: Telemundo and NBC Universo
Telemundo and NBC Universo Stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
fuboTV (Try for free) Follow: CBS Sports App
Thursday, June 14
Russia vs. Saudi Arabia 11 a.m. ET Moscow Fox
Friday, June 15
Egypt vs. Uruguay 8 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg FS1 Morocco vs. Iran 11 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox Portugal vs. Spain 2 p.m. ET Sochi Fox
Saturday, June 16
France vs. Australia 6 a.m. ET Kazan FS1 Argentina vs. Iceland 10 a.m. ET Moscow Fox Peru vs. Denmark 12 p.m. ET Saransk FS1 Croatia vs. Nigeria 3 p.m. ET Kaliningrad FS1
Sunday, June 17
Costa Rica vs. Serbia 8 a.m. ET Samara Fox Germany vs. Mexico 11 a.m. ET Moscow FS1 Brazil vs. Switzerland 2 p.m. ET Rostov FS1
Monday, June 18
Sweden vs. South Korea 8 a.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod FS1 Belgium vs. Panama 11 a.m. ET Sochi FS1 Tunisia vs. England 2 p.m. ET Volgograd FS1
Tuesday, June 19
Poland vs. Senegal 8 a.m. ET Moscow FS1 Colombia vs. Japan 11 a.m. ET Saransk Fox Russia vs. Egypt 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox
Wednesday, June 20
Portugal vs. Morocco 8 a.m. ET Moscow FS1 Uruguay vs. Saudi Arabia 11 a.m. ET Rostov Fox Iran vs. Spain 2 p.m. ET Kazan Fox
Thursday, June 21
France vs. Peru 8 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg FS1 Denmark vs. Australia 11 a.m. ET Samara Fox Argentina vs. Croatia 2 p.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod Fox
Friday, June 22
Brazil vs. Costa Rica 8 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg FS1 Nigeria vs. Iceland 11 a.m. ET Volgograd Fox Serbia vs. Switzerland 2 p.m. ET Kaliningrad Fox
Saturday, June 23
Belgium vs. Tunisia 8 a.m. ET Moscow Fox Germany vs. Sweden 11 a.m. ET Sochi Fox South Korea vs. Mexico 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox
Sunday, June 24
England vs. Panama 8 a.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod FS1 Japan vs. Senegal 11 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg Fox Poland vs. Colombia 2 p.m. ET Kazan Fox
Monday, June 25
Saudi Arabia vs. Egypt 10 a.m. ET Volgograd Fox/FS1 Uruguay vs. Russia 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox/FS1 Iran vs. Portugal 2 p.m. ET Saransk Fox/FS1 Spain vs. Morocco 2 p.m. ET Kaliningrad Fox/FS1
Tuesday, June 26
Australia vs. Peru 10 a.m. ET Sochi Fox/FS1 Denmark vs. France 10 a.m. ET Moscow Fox/FS1 Iceland vs. Croatia 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox/FS1 Nigeria vs. Argentina 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox/FS1
Wednesday, June 27
South Korea vs. Germany 10 a.m. ET Kazan Fox/FS1 Mexico vs. Sweden 10 a.m. ET Yekaterinburg Fox/FS1 Switzerland vs. Costa Rica 2 p.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod Fox/FS1 Serbia vs. Brazil 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox/FS1
Thursday, June 28
Japan vs. Poland 10 a.m. ET Volgograd Fox/FS1 Senegal vs. Colombia 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox/FS1 England vs. Belgium 2 p.m. ET Kaliningrad Fox/FS1 Panama vs. Tunisia 2 p.m. ET Saransk Fox/FS1
Saturday, June 30
Round of 16: Match 50: Group C winner vs. Group D runner-up 10 a.m. ET Kazan Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 49: Group A winner vs. Group B runner-up 2 p.m. ET Sochi Fox/FS1
Sunday, July 1
Round of 16: Match 51: Group B winner vs. Group A runner-up 10 a.m. ET Moscow Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 52: Group D winner vs. Group C runner-up 2 p.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod Fox/FS1
Monday, July 2
Round of 16: Match 53: Group E winner vs. Group F runner-up 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 54: Group G winner vs. Group H runner-up 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox/FS1
Tuesday, July 3
Round of 16: Match 55 (Group F winner vs. Group E runner-up) 10 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox/FS1 Round of 16: Match 56 (Group H winner vs. Group G runner-up) 2 p.m. ET Rostov Fox/FS1
Friday, July 6
Quarterfinal: Match 57 (Match 49 winner vs. Match 50 winner) 10 a.m. ET Nizhny Novgorod FS1 Quarterfinal: Match 58 (Match 53 winner vs. Match 54 winner) 2 p.m. ET Kazan FS1
Saturday, July 7
Quarterfinal: Match 60 (Match 55 winner vs. Match 66 winner) 10 a.m. ET Samara Fox Quarterfinal: Match 59 (Match 51 winner vs. Match 52 winner) 2 p.m. ET Sochi Fox
Tuesday, July 10
Semifinal: Match 61 (Match 57 winner vs. Match 58 winner) 2 p.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox
Wednesday, July 11
Semifinal: Match 62 (Match 59 winner vs. Match 60 winner) 2 p.m. ET Moscow Fox
Saturday, July 14
Third-place match: Match 63 (Match 61 loser vs. Match 62 loser) 10 a.m. ET Saint Petersburg Fox
Sunday, July 15
Final: Match 64 (Match 61 winner vs. Match 62 winner) 11 a.m. ET Moscow Fox
For a complete calendar of World Cup matches in Spanish, visit our sister site, CNET.com.
Image caption Russian special forces have been trained to respond to potential attacks on the 12 venues across the country
At a surveillance centre in Kaliningrad, monitoring teams are keeping a close eye on the city.
Sitting at their computers, staff are studying CCTV images from more than 700 security cameras. Another 1,200 cameras have been installed at Kaliningrad Stadium, where England play Belgium on 28 June.
With the latest face-recognition technology, individuals are checked automatically in a police database within seconds of being caught on camera. Similar security systems are in operation in the other World Cup host cities.
"In terms of anti-terrorism, this system will help locate suspicious individuals," says Sergei Evstigneev from the Kaliningrad regional government. "It will allow the police to monitor their movements and react to any situation."
But security cameras are just the first line of defence.
In Kaliningrad, local security forces have been training to react to a possible terrorist attack during the World Cup.
In one exercise, elite units - the "Spetsnaz" - parachuted into the football stadium to deal with a hostage scenario.
In a dramatic training video released by Russia's internal security service, the FSB, special forces armed with Kalashnikovs are shown battling to secure the venue.
More on the World Cup
Image copyright Getty Images
Russia knows that its military operation in Syria makes it a target for terrorists.
In recent weeks, those sympathetic to the Islamic State group have issued threats via the internet against the World Cup.
This may be scaremongering, but the Russian authorities are taking no chances. They have deployed the army, the navy and the air force to boost security.
Image copyright AFP Image caption The 32 teams taking part in the tournament also need 24-hour security
The FSB claims to have uncovered terror cells in several World Cup host cities, including Kaliningrad and St Petersburg. It has made a string of arrests.
"The Russian FSB does not really care much about human rights," believes security analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.
"They're taking out of circulation everyone they believe is a potential threat, no matter what. They put them in custody, maybe in prison; people who may be innocent, but they apparently believe that it's better to take 10 innocent guys off the street than let one terrorist have a run."
The security challenge is considerable: to protect not only stadiums, training grounds and fan zones, but all crowded public areas, from shopping centres to squares and public transport.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Pitch invaders are likely to get short shrift from security guards during the tournament
"It is very hard to prevent a knife attack somewhere in the street," explains Mr Felgenhauer, "or to stop someone stealing a car and slamming into pedestrians. There are also vulnerable points in big cities like Moscow and St Petersburg. The Metro networks there have been attacked before."
Russia knows that there is no such thing as "100% security". But officials are confident the tournament will pass off safely.
"Believe me, the security measures we are taking are unprecedented," World Cup security chief Alexei Lavrishchev assures me.
"They are based on our own experience of providing security for such events, plus international experience. There are sufficient measures in place to ensure that football fans, tourists and Russian citizens will feel comfortable and safe."
Russia's World Cup cities: Kazan to Yekaterinburg
By BBC Monitoring
Image copyright BBC Sport
