Russia are in pole position in Group J of the European qualifiers ahead of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup tournament after they took advantage of dropped points from former leaders Croatia. The 2018 World Cup hosts became the new leaders in their group after an impressive 2-1 win at the home of Slovenia last week Monday.

Apart from Russia, Croatia and Slovenia, the other teams in Group J are Malta, Cyprus and Slovakia. Ahead of the eighth round of games in the group held last week Monday, Croatia held on to the summit from Russia via goal difference. Continue reading →