Russia crushes Saudi Arabia 5-0 in opener
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia launched the World Cup party in spectacular style when it thrashed a feeble Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the tournament’s opening match on Thursday evening to give the host nation the lift it desperately needed after a nine-month winless run.
Substitute Denis Cheryshev scored two brilliant goals after Yury Gazinsky had headed the World Cup’s first after 12 minutes.
Artem Dzyuba was also on target a minute after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute and Ale-ksandr Golovin completed a memorable day by smashing in a free kick with the last action of the game.
The result equaled the best in a World Cup opening game – Brazil beat Mexico 5-0 in Geneva in 1954 – and watching Russian President Vladimir Putin wasted no time in phoning coach Stanislav Cherchesov to congratulate him.
“We are not getting ahead of ourselves. We saw that we are on the right track but we should forget this game and concentrate on the next one,” said Cherchesov after ending a seven-game winless run in emphatic style.
Constantly criticized in the ragged build-up games, Cherchesov had promised improvement once the phony war was over, and his energetic players duly delivered.
“We were tighter, more disciplined, more mature,” he said. “To be good is one thing, to be good at the right time in the right place is another.”
It also helps if you are facing a team which has now lost eight and drawn two of its last 10 World Cup matches, whose defending fell painfully short of World Cup standard and whose attack was non-existent.
Coach Juan Antonio Pizzi does not speak any Arabic, but it will not take long for his side o become aware of his Spanish description of the performance as shameful.
Russia’s fans, forced to suffer years of poor performances in friendlies that left their team an em-barrassing 70th in the world rankings, will not care about the quality of the opponents.
But they will be aware that the Asian qualifiers look desperately ill-equipped to trouble Egypt or group favorites Uruguay, who meet tomorrow, and that there is still much to be done for the hosts to secure progress to the knockout stage.
Russia looked more purposeful from the start as it poured into the vast spaces on both flanks and it was no surprise when it opened the scoring after 12 minutes as Gazinsky was left unmarked to nod home Golovin’s deep left-wing cross.
Alan Dzagoev had been at the heart of things in the Russians’ midfield promptings, but had to go off after pulling a hamstring in the 23rd minute. Cherchesov said later that his tournament might be over but one man’s misfortune is another’s opportunity as his replacement Cheryshev doubled the lead with a mesmerizing touch of skill.
Collecting a pass from Roman Zobnin on the left of the box he showed great composure to noncha-lantly dink the ball inches above two prone defenders desperately sliding in, before lashing into the roof of the net.
Russia made it 3-0 in the 71st minute when Golovin chipped in a cross for giant striker Dzyuba to rise and head in from close range.
The crowd was then treated to a fabulous finale as Cheryshev cleverly rifled home an unstoppable curving fourth with the outside of his foot before Golovin capped a great personal performance by curling his free kick beyond the wall.
Russia can now prepare to face Egypt next week full of confidence, while Saudi Arabia needs to find instant improvement if it is to avoid further embarrassment against Uruguay.
Argentina must overcome own demons to beat Iceland
Meanwhile, Argentina starts as a hot favorite to beat Iceland in its opening World Cup Group D match on Saturday, but the toughest opponent for the runner-up four years ago may be itself rather than the tiny tournament debutante.
Champion in 1978 and 1986, Argentina is part of soccer’s elite and has in its ranks Lionel Messi, the five-time world player of the year.
But the Albiceleste only qualified for Russia thanks to a win in their final qualifier against Ecuador and scored 19 goals in 18 games, the lowest by any South American qualifier since the single-group format was adopted in the mid-1990s.
Since then, their on the field woes have worsened – a slim win over non-qualifiers Italy in March was followed four days later by a 6-1 hammering by Spain – and been exacerbated by bad luck and poor planning.
In spite of all this, Argentina is still firmly favored in Moscow on Saturday to overcome the small-est nation ever to qualify for the World Cup finals.
Iceland was the surprise team at Euro 2016, drawing with winner Portugal in the group stage and defeating England in the last-16 on its way to quarterfinal defeat to France.
Few people believe Iceland can win, but it may take heart from recalling the last time Argentina ex-pected to win the opening game of the tournament against a team that had never won a World Cup match.
The year was 1990 and Argentina’s opponent was Cameroon, which won 1-0 and went on to reach the quarterfinals, a feat still unsurpassed by an African side.