Russia was kicked out of World Cup qualifying after it invaded Ukraine and now can only play friendlies against the few nations prepared to accept its invitations.
While the soccer world focuses on the opening game of the World Cup in Qatar on Sunday, Russia will be playing a friendly game in Uzbekistan.
Russia's scheduled opponent, Poland, refused to travel to Moscow to play, as did the other teams in the playoff bracket. That raised the prospect of Russia qualifying for the World Cup by default. In legal battles at the Court of Arbitration for Sport,that letting Russia compete could cause more boycotts and “irreparable and chaotic” damage to its tournament. CAS let the ban stand.
The president of the Russian soccer federation told local media that the game with Iran could be held in Qatar shortly before the World Cup. That could have been seen as a snub to FIFA. No date or venue was ever confirmed before Russia announced the Tajikistan and Uzbekistan games instead. What exactly Russia's support for Qatar involves is unclear, but Qatari officials have shown interest in the tight security around Russian games in 2018. For the first time at a World Cup, it included a mandatory “Fan ID” scheme. A ticket on its own wasn't enough to enter the stadium. Fans provided personal data to get an ID card needed to pass stadium security, which also doubled as a visa to enter the country. The same is true of Qatar's similar Hayya Card program.
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