Rampant Russia pummel Saudi Arabia 5-0 in opening FIFA World Cup 2018 match
FIFA World Cup 2018 hosts Russia registered a 5-0 tournament-opening win over Saudi Arabia. Take a look at some of the best images from the
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Russia's players celebrate the fifth goal of their team during the Group A match between Russia and Saudi Arabia which opened the 2018 FIFA World Cup at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on Thursday. Russia won 5-0. AP
Russia, left, and Saudi Arabia stand on the pitch ahead of their Group A match. The Saudis were ranked three places above Russia at 67 in the world rankings. AP
The stadium exploded into raptures after only 12 minutes when Yury Gazinsky headed home for the opener. Denis Cheryshev showed great skill of his own to double the hosts’ lead just before half time with a left-footed piledriver. Cheryshev is pictured here celebrating after scoring for his team. AP
Saudi Arabia's Salem Al-Dawsari and Abdullah Otayf in action with Russia's Aleksandr Samedov. The Saudis played some nice, tight football at times, but were never able to match the Russian hosts for energy or intent. Reuters
Russia's Artyom Dzyuba, second from left, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal. Dzyuba headed Russia’s third in the 71st minute - 89 seconds after coming on as a substitute. Cheryshev and Aleksandr Golovin hit a further two in injury time, the latter from a free kick, to complete the visitors’ misery. AP
Russia fans at the stadium in Moscow. The Russians served up an adrenaline-fuelled performance for an 80,000-capacity Luzhniki crowd which included President Vladimir Putin and the Saudi crown prince. Reuters