Red-hot Russia batter Saudis
THE abbreviation for Saudi Arabia is KSA, but to be fair, Russia might have got a better game out of KFC. The K stands for Kingdom, but there was nothing regal in this display and little that was remotely competent, either. Russia won by a record scoreline for an opening game, overtaking Brazil’s 4-0 victory over Mexico in 1950 with almost the last kick of the second half. And it didn’t even flatter them. Russia have been in poor form and were terrified of being embarrassed on the global stage at a home World Cup. They need not have worried. This was as easy as an opener can get for a host nation, a horrid, humiliating mismatch that should please nobody but the locals. The standard line will be that it is what the tournament needed — the home team off to a flyer, creating a feelgood factor — but seriously, is it? Most worryingly, if FIFA president Gianni Infantino
gets his way and the competition expands to 48 teams there will be four entrants from Asia who are weaker than Saudi Arabia
were yesterday. How can that be a good thing?
Considering the state of Russian international football right now maybe they could not have coped with a worthier test, but that is no compensation.
Saudi Arabia were just woeful and it is impossible to see how they can reconfigure their back line in time for meetings with Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani next week and, finally, Mohamed Salah. If he is fit and firing, the Liverpool man might exceed Russia’s total on his own.
It was an opening fixture that said much about the modern game, too. High up in the Luzhniki Stadium, president Infantino was exactly where he loves to be: in among the money.
On one side sat Saudi royalty; on the other, his NBF, Russian president Vladimir Putin. As the third goal went in, Infantino gave his berobed companion a little shrug of commiseration. ‘That’s football,’ it seemed to say. And indeed it is. Two oil and energy magnates and FIFA in the middle. That’s football to a tee. So all’s well that ends well, for FIFA and Russia, for now. But that’s the problem with first games.
Nobody yet knows par. Saudi Arabia offered little, were terribly sloppy and overly intricate at the back, and a better team might even have won by a greater margin.
Still, it was better than anyone can have imagined. Russia last won a match at a World Cup finals more than 16 years ago — June 5, 2002, against Tunisia in Kobe — and many were fearing that run might continue.
Russia have injuries, a creaking defence, good players spurned and youth not trusted by coach Stanislav Cherchesov. Fortunately, even these weaknesses could not trump one inescapable truth: Saudi Arabia are useless.
Four years ago, a series of controversial decisions helped hosts Brazil overcome Croatia. In this World Cup, conspiracy theorists will have to retrace their steps to the day the draw was made to feed their suspicions. Pulling out Saudi Arabia as opening- day opponents is the biggest favour FIFA could have done the hosts. Uruguay and Egypt both boast individuals who could cause even the strongest defence problems. Not Saudi Arabia.
Russia knew this was a match they could win and played like it. They scored from their first attack of the game and did not look back.
It is a recent tradition that the scorer of the World Cup’s first goal never adds to his tally and that may be the case for Yury Gazinsky, too. He is a defensive midfield player by trade, a toiler with Krasnodar and considered rather fortunate to be in the squad. Most had him making up Russia’s numbers, no more.
Yet when Yury Zhirkov’s corner was cleared on 12 minutes, Aleksandr Golovin recycled the ball with a deep cross and Gazinsky met it with a header, steering the ball past goalkeeper Abdullah Almuaiouf.
There was, potentially, an infringement as Gazinsky jumped with his marker but replays suggested a loss of footing rather than a push.
Saudi Arabia were weak where Russia were aggressive; Gazinsky was simply more determined to get to the cross.
The second was another defensive catastrophe. Russia broke, given far too much space again, and the ball eventually found its way to the feet of substitute Denis Cheryshev.
Once of Real Madrid, now with Villarreal, he is one of the more skilled Russian forwards, but was given considerable help.
Saudi Arabia’s centre halves Omar Hawsawi and Osama Hawsawi share a name but little else, including a sense of timing.
With one dinked chip, Cheryshev left them both scooting past the ball and slipping on their backsides.
Faced with a clear shot at goal he found the roof of the net. Just two minutes before half time and Saudi Arabia were done.
So, too, sadly is the World Cup for one of Russia’s better players, Alan Dzagoev. He looked to have pulled a hamstring chasing in support of a break and was swiftly withdrawn for Cheryshev. It proved fortuitous on the day, but long term is deeply unhelpful.
Dzagoev is undoubtedly one of Russia’s best players and if the injury is as bad as it first looked will play no further part in the tournament.
They certainly don’t have too many like him to spare.
Not that great skill was needed to close outut this one. Saudi Arabia abia even fell for the oldest ldte trick in football’s book — the big lump up front, slung on late to hold the ball up and get on one put into the mixer, which he duly did, roughly a minute e after arriving.
Artem Dzyubaa is the lump in question; stion; a colourful sort,rt, well known in these partst ffor mocking Unai Emery when he was manager of Spartak Moscow, and later falling out with Russian coach Cherchesov.
Emery ended up at Arsenal, Dzyuba on loan at Arsenal Tula, so it’s fairly obvious who got the last laugh there.
Still, he was a popular boy yesterday, getting the goal that ended any fanciful thoughts of a Saudi revival against all odds and evidence.
There was a neat exchange of passing between Mario Fernandes — beautiful Russian name, as the Pub Landlord might say — Roman Zobnin aand most crucially ciacrucially Golovin who whwhipped the ball in for DDzyuba to meet with a neat header into the corner.corne In injury time came theth twot goals that rewrote the record books. Cheryshev got his second of the night, highlighting the gulf in class. He strolled into the area, unguarded, no- one in his path, before clipping a lovely shot into the far corner. With almost the last kick of the match, Golovin — Russia’s best player on the night — went one better than Brazil 68 summers ago. This was a curling free-kick out of the reach of goalkeeper Almuaiouf, who by then looked like he regretted even putting in for his Russian visa.
It ended in wild celebrations, big smiles and the tournament’s first lap of honour.
Salah, and Egypt, may provide a truer test of this ageing Russian defence in St Petersburg on Tuesday, but until then the hosts can imagine they are quite the team. RUSSIA (4-4-2): Akinfeev 6.5; Fernandes 7, Kutepov 7, Ignashevich 7, Zhirkov 7.5; Samedov 6.5 (Kuziaev 63, 6), Gazinsky 7, Zobnin 7, GOLOVIN 8.5; Dzagoev 6.5 (Cheryshev 23, 8), Smolov 7 (Dzyuba 69, 6).
Scorers: Gazinsky 12, Cheryshev 43, 90+1, Dzyuba 71, Golovin, 90+3.
Booked: Golovin. SAUDI ARABIA (4-4-1-1): Almuaiouf 5; Alburayk 5, Osama Hawsawi 5, Omar Hawsawi 5, Alshahrani 5; Alfaraj 5, Otayf 5 (Almuwallad 63, 4), Aljassam 5, Aldawsari 5; Alshehri 4.5 (Bahbri 74, 4); Alsahlawi 5 (Asiri 85). Booked: Aljassam. Referee: N Pitana (Argentina) 7.
Attendance: 78,011.