Russia vs Egypt: Why Dzagoev's injury has proved a blessing in disguise for hosts

Seeing Alan Dzagoev pull up with a suspected hamstring problem against Saudi Arabia was tough to watch. The creator was previously deemed the future of Russian football, but a series of injury issues has hindered the 28-year-old. It was the same against Saudi Arabia last week. 

However, while it was tough to watch Dzagoev limp off, his absence proved a blessing in disguise for the hosts. Russia may have bagged the opener with the attacker on the pitch, yet they turned on the style once he was forced off at the Luzhniki Stadium. 

After he went off, Aleksandr Golovin moved into his preferred number 10 role, with Denis Cheryshev coming off the bench to feature from the left and it allowed for a more fluid Russia outfit to thrive. Head coach Stanislav Cherchesov is expected to continue with the system when Russia take on Egypt this evening. 

While the Pharaohs were solid against Uruguay, they still fell to a 1-0 loss to their South American counterparts, but they will be boosted by the return of Mohamed Salah, who looks set to start. Uruguay improved once they reverted to a 4-3-1-2 system, with a designated number 10 behind Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, and Russia will be looking for a similar response when the second round of matches kick off tonight. 

Golovin is currently the second highest rated player at the World Cup, with his WhoScored.com rating (9.80) behind only Cristiano Ronaldo (9.83) at the time of writing. Two assists and one goal against Saudi Arabia helped push his rating so high, but he’s unlikely to be afforded so much time and space on the ball against this hard working Egypt outfit. 

Yet having started from the left flank before coming inside to allow Cheryshev to operate from the wing, Golovin has the creative nous to pull the strings in the final third this evening if he is, as expected, deployed in the number 10 role in a 4-2-3-1 system. Egypt will prove a tougher proposition than Saudi Arabia, but if the 22-year-old can churn out another match winning performance, then hosts Russia will be confident of celebrating a second World Cup win.