Moscow: For several days, the Moscow skies bore an overcast look. It drizzled at times, but then it seemed like the heavens would burst open any minute. It did rain eventually. But when it did, it rained goals.
Despite being the lowest ranked team in the tournament and having come into the tournament off a seven-match winless streak, hosts Russia crushed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening game of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Saudi Arabia looked hapless and were just no match for the Russians, as both their country's leaders looked on from the VIP box, sitting on either side of the FIFA president, Gianni Infantino.
This is the second biggest win in the opening match of a World Cup, second only to Italy's 7-1 decimation of USA in 1934.
The result came as a pleasant surprise for Russian fans, whose faith in the team's abilities seemed lower than that of fans of hosts South Africa in 2010. The South Africans were the first host country that failed to advance to the knockout stage and Russia seemed doomed to follow suit.
Yet, five incredibly well-worked goals threw that notion out the window. The Russians floored their vehicle from the word go, before Yuri Gazinsky headed a cross off the left wing in the 12th minute to score the 2018 FIFA World Cup's first goal.
Denis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba played the roles of super substitutes, with the former scoring two stunners after coming off the bench. Yet, the best was saved for the last, when Alexandr Golovin delivered a beautiful free-kick in the final minute of stoppage time.
For a World Cup that has been dogged by political and organisational controversies, this was a more-than-perfect start for the hosts. Coach Stanislas Cherchesov has been at the receiving end of much criticism by the discerning football fan in Russia, but with a win like this, he will now receive their wholehearted backing.
The unpredictable nature of the Cup was the forefront yet again, and for those yearning for the liveliness that behooves a World Cup host, this was exactly the kind of result they were hoping for. Travelling fans had had to make do with their own parties and celebrations until the opening day, because the Russian fan was just not interested.
The local Russians needed this win more than anyone else. And, the sudden burst of energy that transferred from the players on the pitch to the fans at the stadium and the Fan Fests across the country will change everything. The locals have a story to tell and it was an unending party after the victory. They had walked in, humbly, waving their Russian fans, but they all left with their heads held high.
True, Saudi Arabia is the second-lowest ranked team in the tournament, above Russia. It would be wrong to read too much into the result and predict that the Russians will go far into the tournament.
The Saudis were extremely sloppy when in possession and failed to mount any noteworthy challenge after the first goal. But credit has to be given where it is due, and the Russian team, with all their setbacks and mounting injuries, did well with five excellent goals to open the campaign in style.
Russia capitalised on errors by the Saudi midfield that kept giving the ball away. Utilising this, they launched ferocious counter attacks to bomb the Saudi goal. Going into their remaining two group games, things will not be this easy for the host.
Egypt has an extremely defensive side that sits back and holds the ball well, while Uruguay is capable of ripping any side to shreds. This thumping victory could still help Russia make it out of the group, though, yet again, they are likely to face either Portugal or Spain in the round of 16.
After a performance as superhuman as this, it seems like the only possibility of anything spoiling this victory for the Russians, at a later stage, is if it is discovered that the team resorted to using performance enhancers, just like many a former Soviet and Russian athlete has been accused of doing. Although this is unlikely, because drugs don't have as much effect on a skill-based game like football, the thought could still linger on the minds of the neutral for some time now.
At the end of the day, Russia has proved that even though it is not a force to be reckoned with, it will not participate in this tournament as some pushover. Every World Cup has its fair share of surprises. And this result is a startling reminder of how not even the brightest minds can call a result like this one.
