[World Cup] World Cup opening with 5-0 Victory for Russia

By Lim Chang-won Posted : June 15, 2018, 09:04 Updated : June 15, 2018, 09:26

[Yonhap Photo]


SEOUL -- The opening match for Russia could not have been better with a 5-0 victory against Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.

Russia, ranked 70th, the lowest of 32 countries, proved that these were just numbers without substance and scored five goals out of the 13 goal tries. This is a valuable victory for Russia in 16 years since the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup. Saudi Arabia failed to record a single shot.

In opening games, host countries have never lost a World Cup opener since the 2006 German World Cup. With Russia continuing the trend, fans have garnered high hopes for the host country. President Vladimir Putin, who watched the opening match with FIFA president Gianni Infantino, had a big smile on his face everytime Russia scored.

Russia dominated the game with an early goal in the 12th minute when Roman Zobnin crossed right into the danger zone and Yury Gazinsky hammered it home with his head, making it seem like an easy goal for the Russian team.

Afterward, Russia continued to weave through the Saudi defense. In the 22nd minute, Alan Dzagoev pulled out with an injury and he was replaced with Denis Cheryshev who showed his presence in the arena with a goal in the 43rd minute. Cheryshev managed to get by the Saudi defense and had the keeper at his mercy. He let two Saudi defenders slide by and buried his shot deep into the top left corner with a left-foot shot.

At one point, Saudi Arabia seemed to be recovering from an early pass in the second half but failed to penetrate Russia's thick defense. Russia used replacement cards effectively and called in Artem Dzyuba, a 1.96 meter-tall striker in the second half. In the 70th minute, Dzyuba muscled his way clear of the defenders and scored with an easy header. At the 91st minute, Chershev scored his second goal from the left of the penalty area. With the Saudis woefully overmatched, Russia was awarded a free kick and Aleksandr Golovin concluded the game with a goal.

This story was contributed by Jazin Wee, an editorial assistant.
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