Hosts Russia began their FIFA World Cup campaign in an emphatic fashion, registering an easy 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia at the 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium in the opening match of the tournament.
Hosts Russia dominated the visitors throughout the match with their rational play. Yuri Gazinskiy got Russia off the mark with a fine header from the close range and Denis Cheryshev scored the first of his two goals, displaying great composure. Artem Dzyuba was the second player to come off the bench and within minutes found the net with a header. In the stoppage time, Cheryshev scored a beauty with his left foot and Aleksandr Golovin finished the game by curling in a free-kick to score Russia’s fifth goal.
The sporting extravaganza has begun and Russia takes three points from the opening game and leads the group A.
The Group A points table:
| Group A | Match | Won | Draw | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 3 |
| Egypt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Uruguay | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -5 | 0 |
Achilles, a deaf white cat who is the official animal soothsayer for the tournament, had predicted that Russia would defeat Saudi Arabia in the match. It has also been a trend that a host team always wins its first match in world cup.
FIFA World Cup 2018, world’s biggest sports extravaganza, is a month-long tournament to decide the best football team in the world. It will come to an end on July 15 when the final is played. In the first match of FIFA World Cup 2018, hosts Russia faced Saudi Arabia in Group A at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
Source: Zee News