2018 W/Cup: Cheryshev Hits Brace As Russia Thrash Saudi Arabia

Denis Cheryshev scored a brace as host nation Russia made the perfect start to the tournament with a 5-0 hammering of Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.

Yuri Gazinskiy got them off the mark in the tournament at the 12th minute with a fine headed finish from close range before Denis Cheryshev scored the first of his two strikes.

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Artem Dzyuba came off the bench to find the net when he headed home, after a quite delicious ball from Aleksandr Golovin.

In stoppage time Cheryshev scored a beauty with the outside of his left foot before Golovin capped off the game by curling home a free-kick.

There are no words to express what I’m feeling right now. I’m so happy for my family who have struggled with my injuries – they deserve this,” 28-year-old Cheryshev said.

“I could never have dreamed of anything like this.”

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The result leaves Stanislav Cherchesov’s men in a strong position to qualify for the last-16 and uphold the strong record of hosts at major international tournaments – 20 of 21 host teams have progressed from their group.

Elsewhere in Group A, Egypt take on Uruguay on Friday. Up next for Russia is Egypt on June 19 , while Saudi Arabia need to avoid defeat against Uruguay on June 20 to keep their World Cup bid alive.

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