Russia gets the 2018 World Cup underway, and its opening draw is a kindly one: the long shots Saudi Arabia.
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How to watch: In the United States, Fox and Telemundo have the broadcast at 11 a.m. Eastern, but you can stream it here.
• Need some help? Here’s a breakdown of all 32 teams
24’: Russia Loses Alan Dzagoev
Alan Dzagoev, who was a part of a number of Russia’s moves, pulls up with an apparent hamstring injury. Russia was forced into an early substitution: Denis Cheryshev checked in.
Rory Smith: That’s a significant moment for Russia: not in this game, necessarily, but for the country’s hopes of qualifying from the group stage and continuing its World Cup into the latter stages (a weird thing to say 20 minutes into the first game, but hear me out). Alan Dzagoev is — along with Aleksandr Golovin — one of possibly only two genuinely creative players Russia has. He’s always struggled with injury, but this is terrible timing for him, of course, and for his country. Losing him to what looked an awful lot like a popped hamstring may not affect the result today all that much, but he would have been important for Russia against Egypt and Uruguay, too. There’s now a risk he won’t be available for either.
20’: Saudis Struggling for Control
The Saudis finally got a run of possession together, but it was by their defenders deep in their own territory, while Russia sat back, understandably, with a 1-0 lead. Think a comeback is in the offing? Saudi Arabia is 40-1 to win this match right now.
15’: Russia Keeps Pressing
Almost two for Russia. Saudi keeper Al-Mayouf made a desperate lunge and fisted a ball away. 2-0 looks a lot more likely than 1-1 right now.
12’: GOAL! Russia Scores First World Cup Goal
Russia is ahead! Saudi players scampered back in some disarray (again). The ball pinged around the box, Roman Zobnin crossed right into the danger zone and Yury Gazinsky hammered it home with his head. So easy for Russia.
Andrew Das: In the rare moments when the Saudis have had the ball, they’ve shown they are pretty sharp with that one-touch passing in small spaces that comes from years of rondos, that soccer training game where a circle of players try to play keepaway from a couple of opponents in the middle.
But rondos are an effort to keep the ball inside the circle. They never really go anywhere. And neither are the Saudis.
7’: Russia Plays Aggressor
Dzagoev and Zobnin have been getting a lot of space down the wings for Russia. So far they have not been able to get it into the box effectively, but Russia is definitely on the front foot so far.
Rory Smith: Hopefully, that goal settles Russia down - and the early signs are that there’s now a bit of confidence about the host - but the pace of the start stays high.
3’: Saudi Arabia in Trouble Early
The first corner of the game went to Russia, and Saudi Arabia’s defensive anchor Osama Hawsawi was forced to clear it off the line. A dangerous situation for Saudi Arabia right away.
0’: Saudi Arabia in Green, Russia in Red
We’re under way in Moscow! Saudi Arabia kicks off wearing green, while Russia is in red.
Vladimir Putin Opens the World Cup
Vladimir Putin gave a speech in Russian welcoming the crowd and opening up the World Cup. There is always a surge of excitement around the world for the first game of the Cup, although that is tempered a bit this year because the match happens to be between the 67th and 70th ranked teams. As usual, the new World Cup brings a new FIFA ball: This year’s is white with gray pixilated hexagons.
Opening Ceremony: Robbie Williams Takes the Stage
The crowd in Moscow was treated to an opening ceremony featuring English popstar Robbie Williams, Russian soprano Aida Garifullina and the usual array of gaudily-dressed extras forming letters and patterns on the field. They cruised through some of Williams’s greatest hits, including “Let Me Entertain You” and “Angels.” Ronaldo, the former Brazilian star was also on hand, but did not get an opportunity to sing.
Here Is the Russia Lineup
1 Akinfeev
2 Fernandes
3 Kutepov
4 Ignashevich
8 Gazinskii
9 Dzagoev
10 Smolov
11 Zobnin
17 Golovin
18 Zhirkov
19 Samedov
• A lot of people were expecting Russia’s midfield twins, Aleksei and Anton Miranchuk, to be a key part of the team. But they aren’t in the announced starting lineup. Russia has the luxury of a fairly deep midfield, by far its best area. As for the Saudi team strength ... it’s not clear there is one.
Here Is the Saudi Arabia Lineup
1 Abdullah
3 Osama
5 Omar
6 Alburayk
7 Salman
8 Yahia
10 Alsahlawi
13 Yasser
14 Otayf
17 Taiseer
18 Salem
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Russia vs. Saudi Arabia Top Story Lines
• Home teams have tended to do well in the World Cup. But such is Russia’s world ranking (only 70th, behind Albania) and recent form (1-2 in the Confederations Cup, a friendly loss to Austria) that hopes are not high. Russia may not even make it out of a fairly weak group that contains Uruguay and Egypt, much less threaten to win the overall title as six host teams have done.
• On the other hand, Russia is opening up against Saudi Arabia, by acclamation the weakest team in the tournament, offered at odds of 1000-1 or more. A 3-0 friendly drubbing by Peru earlier this month was not propitious.
• Russia’s goalkeeper, Igor Akinfeev, is 32 and has been playing for Russia since he was 18. But he has always been considered below the best net-minders in Europe. A lifer at CSKA Moscow, he is the kind of player who turns up in the early stages of the Champions League and disappears before the real games start.
• Another CSKA star is Aleksandr Golovin, just 22 and possibly soon to be on his way to a bigger European team. He is a versatile talent, and if Russia is to re-emerge as a world-beater in the years ahead, he is likely to be a big part of it.
• Saudi Arabia lacks big names, to say the least. Of their 23 players, 20 are based in the obscure Saudi league, while three play for the kind of Spanish teams that aren’t often shown on TV. Keep an eye on Mohamed Al-Sahlawi, who has a nose for goal. His 16 scores in qualifying topped the world, although some of them came against weak opposition (eight total in two games against Timor Leste).
• The last time Saudi Arabia qualified, in 2006, it managed a single draw. In 2002, it was 0-3 including an 8-0 loss to Germany.
Some Pregame Reading
• Russia’s car capital now cranks out soccer players: They have always made things in Tolyatti. Despite an economic downturn, they still make cars, just fewer than before: Ladas and Renaults and Nissans, some of them sold at the countless dealerships that line the road to Samara, the regional capital, but most of them shipped north, to Moscow and St. Petersburg, or west to Europe, or east to China. But down the road, in the quiet suburb of Primorsky, there is another factory, another production line. Over the last 15 years, Tolyatti has become a city that makes soccer players.
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