Welcome. It feels like the World Cup has properly started, doesn't it?

Russia hammering Saudi Arabia was all well and good, but until you've got the kind of wall-to-wall football that prevents you from leaving the sofa, showering or feeding the dog, the tournament hasn't really begun.

If you missed it earlier, Uruguay burgled a 1-0 win against Egypt and, at the moment, Morocco and Iran are predictably sharing a goalless draw.

This evening, the big one is in Sochi.

Yep, with France behaving themselves and the Netherlands not in Russia, it has been left to Spain to provide the pre-tournament drama.

Manager Julen Lopetegui was sacked on Tuesday after being caught doing the footballing equivalent of cheating on your wife.

Portugal v Spain didn't need a subplot (if we're being honest, we weren't that fussed about any of the World Cup games until this one), but it's now thicker than War & Peace.

Having said that, Portugal switched their boss mid-way through the Euro 2016 final, and that worked out pretty well.

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The Spain class of 2018 are employing a more unconventional method.

If it succeeds, everyone at Qatar 2022 will be sacking their manager two days before the tournament begins.

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...or you might have an opponent that blasts his penalty kick into a different city...

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...or being lucky enough to have the best player on the planet...

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Having a once-in-a-lifetime collection of talent is one...

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There are a number of routes to World Cup glory...

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