MOSCOW — France’s players had barely finished celebrating their victory over Uruguay in the World Cup’s first quarterfinal when a convoy of black minivans and sedans screeched out of the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium. The passengers were in a hurry. They had about two hours — roughly the length of a soccer match — to make the 200-mile journey to Kazan for the day’s second game.
The vehicles whisked them to the airport, where they boarded a private charter flight. When that jet arrived in Kazan, its passengers were met by another fleet of black vehicles, which drove them at high speed directly into the Kazan Arena. They had made it, but only just. Glasses of Champagne were available upstairs in a suite for anyone who wanted them. After all, it had been a stressful journey.
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