Russia soaks in opening win
The opener is rarely about the two foes, and the one Thursday was no different. From Red Square to Arbat Street, in front of the Karl Marx statue facing the Bolshoi Theater and in the jammed trains ferrying fans on Metro’s 1 line, the spirit of the World Cup overshadowed the actual match.
Well, until the Russian goal-fest began.
Experts say Russia has not seen this many visitors at one time since the 1980 Olympics. Outside Luzhniki Stadium, one of two venues in the capital, Saudis mixed with Senegalese, Colombians with Koreans, Mexicans with Moroccans.
Inside the spectacular arena, Russians had all the fun.
With each goal, Putin expressed his condolences to Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman by reaching across the seat occupied by FIFA president Gianni Infantino. Other dignitaries included, among others, heads of state from former Soviet republics, Panama, Paraguay and Bolivia.
Coach Stanislav Cherchesov stepped away from the postgame news conference to take a congratulatory call from Putin. Upon returning, he said: “That was the head of state. He asked me to share his thanks with the team for their performance we put on. And he asked the team to continue playing like this.”
Russia is not expected to go very far in this tournament. In fact, there were genuine concerns that it would become the second host in tournament history to exit after the group stage. (South Africa fell short of the second round in 2010.)
The Soviet Union produced world-class teams, but Russia has enjoyed small levels of success. This team entered the tournament winless in seven consecutive matches.
The Moscow Times, an English-language newspaper, echoed the thoughts of probably most Russian fans with dour headlines, such as “Destined to Defeat” and “Why Russia Is Doomed to Fail.”
If the Russians are to avoid an early fall, they had to win Thursday, because the level of competition will grow with each match: Egypt Tuesday in St. Petersburg and foursome favorite Uruguay June 25 in Samara.
They rose to the occasion, outclassing a young opponent that was out of its element and is almost certain to head home in 12 days.
“It’s just the beginning, not the end,” Cherchesov said. “We got three points. In this tournament, we need to gather points. We need to [advance from] the group.”