Hosts Russia began their World Cup campaign on a positive note with a convincing 5:0 win over Saudi Arabia. Iury Gazinsky scored the first goal of the tournament in the 12th minute, relieving the Russians of some pressure.
Denis Cheryshev doubled their lead in the 43rd minute sending the Russian fans into a frenzy. The Saudi’s fought back in the second half, having a lot of possession but not doing much with.
The Russians went ahead to worsen Saudi Arabia’s woes as Artem Dzyuba came off the bench to head a third Russian goal in the 71st minute of the match. The Russians were not finished. In the first minute of additional time, Denis Cheryshev doubled his goals tally, scoring Russia’s fourth with a beautifully struck volley.
Just when everyone thought it had ended, Aleksandr Golovin scored a fifth from a perfectly struck free kick, completing the routing of the Saudi Arabian team.
The match ended 5:0 in favour of Russia and the attendance at the match was confirmed at 78,011.