Russia's World Cup heartbreak ended as soon as they stepped into Luzhniki' Stadium today, as the hosts strolled past a weak Saudi Arabian side with a 5-0 win.
Stanislav Cherchesov's men hadn't tasted victory in any match since October 2017, and now, their chances of making it past the Group Stage look better than ever.
What should make the hosts even happier is the fact that they managed to end a 16-year drought since their last World Cup victory.
Russia today:
— Gary = (@garyalsmith) June 14, 2018
Five-star performance
5-0 win
First #WC win since 2002 #WorldCupwithGary #JoyWorldCup
The hosts started re-writing World Cup records right from the start, as one of their footballers established a team record and entered FIFA World Cup history by doing so.
38 - Sergei Ignashevich (38 years, 335 days) is the oldest outfield player to feature in a World Cup match since Roger Milla in 1994. Seasoned.
— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) June 14, 2018
No World Cup host in history had earned such a commanding lead in the opening match of the tournament. In fact, Russia's win had the largest goalscoring margin for a host since Italy's 7-1 win in 1934.
Russia defeats Saudi Arabia 5-0, the largest margin of victory in the opening match at the #WorldCup (excluding years with multiple opening matches played simultaneously).
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 14, 2018
It is the largest shutout win in an opening match by a host country in #WorldCup history. #RUS #KSA pic.twitter.com/QKg9bYDkyK
Denis Cheryshev may have stolen the show for Russia, but Artem Dzyuba also helped out with the third goal of the evening, which in fact was something worthy of notice.
89 - Artem Dzyuba scored just 89 seconds after coming off the bench, the quickest sub goal at a #WorldCup tournament since Marcin Zewlakow for Poland vs USA in 2002 (64 seconds). Rapid. #Russia2018
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) June 14, 2018
Despite initial doubts, Russia maintained the dominance of host nations when making their debut in front of their home crowd.
No #WorldCup host nation has ever lost their opening game of the tournament (including both Japan and South Korea):
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) June 14, 2018
WWWWWWWDDWWDWWDWDWWDWW#RUS continue the trend in style. pic.twitter.com/OyIpYlPVFV
