Worst South American start for 36 years

When you think of football's elite international competition, South American representation is a given - their flair, attack and passion normally a stereotype of their respective styles of play.

However, Russia has not been kind to the continent. Brazil, Argentina, Peru and Colombia all faltered on the big stage, with Uruguay the only side registering a win.

Even their victory over a Salah-less Egypt was less than convincing, needing a last-minute header from Jose Gimenez to win the tie 1-0. Although with their next opponents set to be Saudi Arabia, an improved performance should be a given.

The next to play was Argentina, who faced an Iceland side accustomed to upsetting giants thanks to their run in the 2016 European Championships. They produced the same against 'La Albiceleste', holding them to a 1-1 draw which even included a penalty miss from talisman Lionel Messi.

Just a few hours later and Peru suffered a 1-0 defeat to Denmark in their first World Cup appearance for 36 years. They had their chances to win the game but didn't capitalise and now face an uphill battle to qualify from the group.

Arguably the biggest shock of them all was Brazil, one of the undisputed favourites. They appeared to be cruising to victory with Philippe Coutinho's wonder-strike but Switzerland were tough and fought their way back into the tie and deserved the 1-1 draw.

The last to fall was Colombia and they did so in dramatic fashion. A foolish red card from Carlos Sanchez left the South American side a goal and man down in the opening stages. Japan took advantage and secured a 2-1 victory.

The results mean that the continent has experienced its worst start to a World Cup in 36 years, since Spain in 1982. However, all is not lost for the five sides with much more expected from them in the second round of fixtures.