MOSCOW – Russia won the opening World Cup match against Saudi Arabia 5-0 on Thursday in Moscow, bolstering the host country’s hopes for a strong showing at home.
Iury Gazinsky scored after 12 minutes and Cheryshev added a second goal before the break after coming on as an injury replacement for Alan Dzagoev.
Artem Dzuyba netted a third before late efforts from Denis Cheryshev (who scored twice) and Aleksandr Golovin wrapped up Russia’s first win since October to launch their Group A campaign in style.
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Thousands of Russian and foreign fans had turned out to watch the World Cup opener in a Moscow fan zone. A crowd of some 10,000 people, including many families with young children, crowded onto the hill above the stadium with giant screens set up to watch the game. Flag-waving supporters from all over the world let out huge cheers and chanted “Russia!” as the host team scored twice in the first half at the city’s Luzhniki Stadium.
Russian fans were less numerous than international ones, but they were rooting for their team to pull off a triumphant start to the championship.
Having come into the game with no wins in seven matches, Russia will now face Egypt and Uruguay without undue worries about goal difference, while Saudi Arabia manager Juan Antonio Pizzi will hope not to repeat the fate of Carlos Alberto Parreira, fired by the same team after two matches in France 98.
