That’s like saying “So far, Manchester United have failed to win” when they’re 2 - 0 up in the 70th minute
Exactly, and on top of that it's as if Manchester (Russia in your analogy) had not yet put Messi (or Cristiano Ronaldo) on the pitch. Keeping him fresh, just in case the opponent (NATO) makes it back to 2-2.
I really like your analogy by the way, though I'd switch Manchester for Argentina(Russia), and make it the finalist of the World Cup against the dark, evil NATO team.
So, Argentina(Russia) are indeed 2-0 up, and sure, NATO might get back to 2-2 by injecting a lot of substitute foreign mercenary blood and relying on Kylian Austin.
But, fear not : Russia have their own Dibu/Putin to save the day, and block any further attempt by NATO!
And of course, there's the "Messi option", to ensure a certain win, and it's the
nuclear one, to break a tie.
By the way, Argentina (which was supported by all Russian people, including Messi-fan Putin himself, during the last world Cup) is indeed a great and healthy team, fighting evil.
Proof is, the Argentine players have recently thrown out a player, a substitute called P. G., who had secretly used... black magic, to try to be on the starting list. So, the faithful Christian Argentine players have kicked him out, because they won't stand evil within their ranks. Like Russia, they fight for Good against Evil.
Anyway, to sum it up : like V. Putin often says, don't forget that this "game" (or any war), Russia cannot lose it in the end, because if necessary they would use the nuke option. They just can't lose, it's just like having Messi on your team.