50 min: Saudi Arabia lose the ball high up the field again and Yuri Zhirkov plays a long pass in behind their centre-backs for Smolov to chase. He wins his team a corner. Zhirkov sends the ball into the mixer, where Osama Hawsawi clears with a meaty header.
48 min: Golovin tries to curl a cross in behind for Smolov, but overhits his pass. The striker scampers towards the touchline but is muscled off the ball by Mohammad Al-Breik.
48 min: A slow start to this second half, with the ball rarely leaving the middle third.
46 min: Russia get the ball rolling for the second half, with no changes in personnel on either side.
That Cheryshev goal: Some of the Saudi defending has been little short of atrocious and Mohammad Al-Breik and Omar Hawsawi were both culpable for the second Russian goal. As Cheryshev picked up the ball on the left side of the Saudi penalty area, both defenders lunged in, committing themselves completely and allowing the Russian substitute to make room for a shot and rifle the ball into the roof of the net.
Guardian sport
(@guardian_sport)Follow #WorldCup 2018 on @guardian_sport
June 14, 2018
Alan Dzagoev update: This, from Julian Borrill: “He came on as a substitute in all three group games in the 2014 World Cup, but missed both the 2016 European Championship and 2017 Confederations Cup with injury.”
The hosts go in for their half-time break with a two-goal lead and it’s little more than they deserve. Yuri Gazinsky headed them into the lead on 12 minutes, before Denis Cheryshev doubled their lead 31 minutes later. He had come off the bench previously to replace the luckless Alan Dzagoev, who was forced off with a hamstring injury.
45+2min: We’re into the second of two minutes of added time.
44 min: Denis Cheryshev has been very impressive since coming on and he scores a fine goal to make it 2-0 to Russia as we approach half-time. With Russia on the counter-attack and a three-on-two advantage, he picked the ball up on the inside left channel from Smolov. He cut inside and took a touch as two defenders dived in, selling themselves completely. With the goal at his mercy, Cheryshev proceeded to blast the ball into the roof of the net from about 12 yards.
The substitute doubles Russia’s lead, smashing a shot inside the near post after taking out two Saudi Arabia defenders with a nice bit of skill.
41 min: Denis Cheryshev gets in behind the Saudi Arabia defence and tries to cut in from the left. A heavy touch and the attentions of a backpedalling Hawsawi lead to a Saudi Arabia goal kick.
38 min: It’s pretty poor quality fare on offer from the two lowest ranked teams in the tournament. Both sides are quite sloppy in possession and seem incapable of holding on to the ball. Russia are worth their one-goal lead, but there’s not a huge amount between the two sides. Three places in the Fifa rankings, to be exact.
38 min: An email from Simon McMahon: “As well as the comprehensive and enlightening Guardian coverage, I’m also keeping Tom Williams’ Do You Speak Football? at my side during the next four weeks,” he writes. “In Russia the word for a technically inadequate player is derevo (literally tree), whereas a battering-ram striker is known as a bombardir-taran. In Saudi Arabia a shot that sails over the crossbar, like that we’ve just seen from Salem, is described by the phrase yaseed hamaam – ‘to hunt pigeons’.”
36 min: Osama Hawsawi saves his team’s bacon with a desperate last-ditch lunge on Golovin, prompting the home fans to appeal for a penalty. Referee Nestor Pitana is in no doubt and immediately – and rather ostentatiously – waves play on. It’s a good decision; that was a brilliant tackle.
35 min: Salem Al-Dawsari picks up the ball not too far outside his own penalty area and goes on a mazy 60-metre run up the centre, before running up a blind alley.
32 min: Saudi Arabia gets forward with Omar Hawsawi on the ball. He and his team-mates are repelled by the Russians and Saudi Arabia advance up the pitch, only to lose the ball in midfield again.
31 min: Of course, I may be mistaken. But I don’t think I am.
29 min: Spare a thought for Alan Dzagoev, who has gone off with a hamstring injury. He also missed the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, if I’m not mistaken.
27 min: Salem Al-Dawsari tries a shot from distance for Saudi Arabia, but his wild effort is fired high over the Russian crossbar.
26 min: Cheryshev wins the ball deep inside his own half and runs 60 or more metres with it before being disposssessed as he tries to hold it up. Saudi Arabia keep giving the ball away and are being made to suffer for it as they get caught high up the field with a series of Russian counter-attacks.
24 min: Alan Dzagoev limps off looking very forlorn indeed and is replaced by Villarreal’s Denis Cheryshev, one of only two Russian players who earn their corn outside of their home country. Cheryshev takes up a position on the left and Aleksandr Golovin moves into the centre, where he’ll operate behind Fyodor Smolov.
23 min: Nothing comes of the corner and as Russia break on the counter, Alan Dzagoev pulls up with what looks like a torn hamstring. It looks like his World Cup could be over already. Poor guy.
20 min: Yasser Al-Shahrani has been Saudi Arabia’s stand-out player thus far and again surges up the left flank. He crosses to Mohammad Al-Sahlaawi, whose diving header is deflected narrowly wide of the left upright by Ilya Kupetov for a Saudi Arabia corner.
James Dart
(@James_Dart)June 14, 2018
19 min: Russia are becoming increasingly dominant, having settled their early jitters with the opening goal. Aleksandr Samedov attacks down the right again and drills a cross into the penalty area. Saudi Arabia clear.
Back to Russia’s goal: I thought Yasser Al-Shahrani had been pushed in the back by Yuri Gazinsky as the Russian leapt to score the opener, but replays suggest the Saudi Arabia left-back actually slipped. It was Aleksandr Golovin who loaded the chamber, crossing from the left after combining with Yuri Zhirkov.
15 min: Al-Mayouf is forced to claw the ball away after a deflected shot from Fyodor Smolov threatens to loop over his head and into the Saudi Arabia goal. There was a clear offside in the build-up, but the linesman missed it.
12 min: Yuri Gazinsky scores the opening goal of the 2018 World Cup, leaping high (and possibly shoving his marker in the back) to guide a cross from the left past Abdullah Al-Mayouf and inside the left upright.
Russia score: Yuri Gazinsky heads Russia into the lead.
10 min: Russia win another corner, which Zhirkov takes again. He tries to pick out Alan Dzagoev, but overcooked his delivery. Yasser Al-Shahrani heads clear for Saudi Arabia.
Dzagoev
7 min: Russia win a throw-in deep in Saudi Arabia territory, then another. Omar Hawsawi clears. Moments previously Dzagoev had sent Fernandes galloping down the left flank with a nicely weighted ball. His cross was met by Smolov, who struck from 12 yards or so only to see his shot blocked.
6 min: Saudi Arabia goalkeeper Abdullah Al-Mayouf is forced to gallop out of his box and hack the ball clear under pressure after being sold short by a back-pass.
4 min: No chances of any kind so far and the game is yet to settle into kind of rhythm. It’s a bit of a pell-mell start and Russia are slightly dominant. They’re lofting high balls towards the Saudi Arabia centre-backs, who have dealt with them reasonably comfortable so far.
3 min: Aleksandr Golovin wins a corner for Russia after chasing a long ball in behind the Saudi Arabia defence. Yuri Zhirkov swings the ball towards the near post, where it’s cleared.
2 min: Aleksandr Samedov wins the first free-kick of the tournament, getting tripped by Mohammad Al-Breik as he gallops down the right flank.
1 min: Saudi Arabia immediately go on the attack down the left flank, but Russia clear their lines.
1 min: Nestor Pitana blows his whistle, Saudi Arabia kick off and the World Cup finals are under way.
Jonathan Wilson
(@jonawils)If Yahya El-Shehri isn’t relishing taking on Ignashevich and Zhirkov, 72 years between them, something is very wrong.
June 14, 2018
It’s time for the last of the pre-match formalities: We’re just a coin-toss and a shrill blast of Argentinian referee Nestor Pitana’s whistle away from the start of World Cup 2018. Brace yourselves …
