Saudi team out to surprise hosts
CURTAIN-RAISER APPEARS TO BE A MUST-WIN FOR BOTH SIDES GIVEN TOUGH GROUP
The World Cup is set to start and finish with games at the opposite ends of the spectrum.
The lowest-ranked teams at the tournament will meet in the opener today when Russia host Saudi Arabia at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, which is also venue for the July 15 final.
The No. 70-ranked Russians got an automatic spot as tournament hosts and the Saudi team, at No. 67, have the lowest ranking of the 31 countries, which secured places via qualifying. They’re the longest of long shots to reach the final but are ready to go on the attack.
“I like to press high up the park and put the opponents under pressure,” Saudi coach Juan Antonio Pizzi told Arab
News this week. “Take the ball to the offensive line and get into a situation where we can score. Sometimes that happens and other times it is not very effective, but that’s the general objective.”
Saudi impressed in phases during their narrow 2-1 defeat to world champions Germany last week and both they and Russia will likely need to win to have a realistic hope of advancing from Group A.
Russian President Vladimir Putin will be in the crowd to support the home side as they bid to end a winless streak of seven games.
The other two teams in the group, Egypt and Uruguay, boast star forwards in Mohammad Salah and Luis Suarez, who could cause major problems for the Russia and Saudi defences.
Losing run
The Saudis lost their last three games but remain upbeat at their first World Cup appearance for 12 years.
The Green Falcons have little to lose and are feeling increasingly confident. “They know what to expect in Russia and know what we expect of them, so we are ready to perform to our best abilities,” said Pizzi.
Pizzi and Russia’s Stanislav Cherchesov bring very different personalities and coaching tactics to the tournament.
Pizzi won the 2016 Copa America title with Chile using an all-action style with constant pressure on the opposition.
Cherchesov favours a more defensive approach.
Injuries disrupted Russia’s World Cup preparations, with forward Alexander Kokorin and defenders Georgy Dzhikiya and Viktor Vasin sustaining severe knee injuries earlier this year.
That forced Cherchesov into some late shake-ups. Expect Fyodor Smolov to start up front and for more tinkering with the defence.
Cherchesov abandoned his usual three-man backline with wing-backs in favour of a fourman defence against Austria last month, but Russia lost 1-0 and failed to register a shot on target.
The average age of players in the Russia and Saudi Arabia squads is almost 29 — among the oldest in the tournament.