As Russia revels, an abysmal Argentina weeps

THE fortunes of Russia - the lowest-ranked of the 32 teams competing at the 2018 World Cup - and the two-time champion Argentina could hardly be more contrasting.

Before the month-long tournament kicked off last week, the bookies would have quoted you some pretty long odds for Russia to win their first two matches to comfortably sail into the Round of 16. Most Russians, including perhaps even President Vladimir Putin himself, could not have expected to see their beloved team trounce Saudi Arabia 5-0 and then swat aside Mohamad Salah's Egypt 3-1 to surge to the top of their group.

Argentina - a team chock-full of superstars including Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Juventus striker Paulo Dybala - can only wish they were in Russia's shoes, and that speaks volumes of the messy predicament that they find themselves mired in.