The aim is clear: “We need to be a really strong host,” Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov said recently. “We can’t face Germany until the semifinals or finals. If we get that far, I’ll be the happiest man in the world.” If that were to come to pass, he would have every reason to be. However, it’s hard to imagine Russia getting to the latter stages of the tournament. Drawn in a group with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay, just getting to the knockout stages will pose a serious challenge for Russia. In view of the team’s performances of late, some have even said that Russia look like the worst team ever fielded by a World Cup host nation. While they kept the score close in their 1-0 defeat against Argentina in the autumn, Russia followed this up with a 3-0 defeats to both Brazil and France in March. Last Wednesday, they wrapped up their training camp in Austria by losing 1-0 to that country’s national team in Innsbruck, so now the 54-year-old Cherchesov’s men have gone six matches without a win. Their final pre-World Cup friendly will be against Turkey in Moscow next Tuesday. Igor Akinfeev had a thankless job against…