Well, no, Russia failed to muddle through. And what happened to the ultra-defensive age? The goal average is 2.7 per match – against 2.15, 2.55, 2.5 resp. 2.4 in the previous 16-team tournaments at this stage; in fact you have to go back to 1984 for a higher goal average at 2½ rounds through the group stage (3.0). What's more there has been no 0-0! This is unprecedented in the 16-team era, and 1988 was the last tournament without a 0-0 in the group stage.

_{*Lunatic*, n.
One whose delusions are out of fashion.}