Russia easily held on to beat Egypt 3-1 in St. Petersburg. After their second group-stage match, the hosts have six points and are in with an excellent chance of reaching the knockout stage, where they could face Portugal, Spain, Iran or Morocco.

"Egypt are a good team, they played fast... There were a few nervous moments after Salah's goal. It was difficult to contain Salah. He is a world-class player," Zhirkov told journalists.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches being played in 11 cities across Russia.