Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in World Cup opener

World
Europe

00:37

Substitute Denis Cheryshev scored twice as Russia opened their World Cup campaign by romping to a 5-0 victory over Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

The result marked Russia's first victory in football's showpiece event since a 2-0 win over Tunisia in Japan 16 years ago.

It was also the biggest victory margin in the opening game of a World Cup since 1934.

VCG Photo

Cheryshev scored either side of halftime while Artem Dzyuba, Luri Gazinksy and Aleksandr Golovin were also on target in front of 78,000 fans at the Luzhniki Stadium.

"It's just the beginning. It could have been 1-1, and nothing would have changed,” said the Russian coach Stanislav Cherchesov, calling for calm following the victory.

"We need to get through the group. We won the first match in the [2017] Confederations Cup 2-0, but we didn't get very far," Cherchesov said. "This result shows that we are on the right track. But we should turn the page now and focus on what's ahead."

The team's next fixture will be against Egypt on Tuesday, and Cherchesov is expecting a tighter contest against the African side. He said he is still unsure whether star forward Mohamed Salah will play as he recovers from a shoulder injury.

VCG Photo

"We will watch Egypt in the next match [against Uruguay on Friday]," Cherchesov said. "We don't know if Salah is going to play or not. This is a big variable. But with or without him they are a very respectable team. With him of course, even more so. The next game against them will be more complex."

Russia's celebrations were tempered by an injury to influential midfielder Alan Dzagoev. The CSKA Moscow player was forced off in the first half with a suspected torn hamstring.

(With inputs from Xinhua)