SHEIKH THAT
Hosts have got even more front than Robbie as they slaughter Saudis in style
THERE are no easy games in international football – unless of course you’re playing Saudi Arabia.
Hosts Russia, written off by their own nation before the tournament began, could not have asked for more obliging opponents as they ended a sevengame winless run in style.
The closest the home fans got to a shock was Robbie Williams flipping the bird to the camera during his opening ceremony performance.
Egypt’s Mo Salah and Uruguay’s Luis Suarez will certainly fancy their chances of stacking up the goals in the race for the Golden Boot when they face the Saudis in the group stage.
And if this is how one-sided games can be with 32 teams in the World Cup imagine how farcical things will become when the tournament is expanded to 48 nations in 2026.
Russia, at 70th the lowestranked side in the tournament, made Saudi – ranked above them in 67th – pay heavily for their failings to register the biggest win by a host nation in the opening game of a World Cup since 1934.
Coach Stanislav Cherchesov denied he and his side had been kidding the football world with their poor run in the build-up that gave no indication of such a big win.
He said: “To kid so many people is very difficult, even for such masters as my players. We haven’t been kidding anybody, we’ve just been doing our job.
“To be good is one thing, to be good at the right time is a different thing altogether and we did that. We’re not trying to silence anyone here, we’re just trying to do our work.”
And two-goal hero Denis Cheryshev, whose recent career has been blighted by injury, said: “There are no words to express what I’m feeling right now.
“I’m happy we won, happy for the team and for my own family because they’ve suffered so much with my injuries and they deserved this result.
“But we shouldn’t stop here. At any moment when you relax, you can be kicked out. It’s as simple as that, so we have to keep progressing.” This Russia team may lack the flair and attacking verve of the side Guus Hiddink took to the semi-finals of Euro 2008. But Cherchesov, a former goalkeeper who played for Russia at the 1994 World Cup, has assembled a squad who should at least make it to the knockout stage after this emphatic start. Russia began the rout in the 12th minute, the Saudi defence caught flat-footed as Roman Zobnin slung in a cross for Yury Gazinsky, who steered an angled header into the net.
Buoyed by the home support among the 78,011 crowd in the Luzhniki Stadium, Russia gave them something to cheer about with a victory as thrilling as it was unexpected.
The hosts suffered a blow when playmaker Alan Dzagoev was forced off midway through the first half with what looked to be a hamstring injury and was replaced by Cheryshev.
But Cheryshev’s enforced introduction would ultimately benefit Russia.
And he scored their second with a deft drag-back that took out two Saudi players, followed by a crashing left-foot finish into the roof of the net.
Zobnin made it a hat-trick of assists with Russia’s third, crossing for another sub Artem Dzyuba to head in.
And Cheryshev claimed his second of the game with a stunning strike in added time.
The misery was not over for the Saudis, with Aleksandr Golovin making it 5-0 with a sublimely dispatched free-kick seconds before the final whistle.
World Cups always thrive from a prolonged run from the hosts.
And while Russia are unlikely to be there at the business end, their winning start was just what the tournament needed.