Russia vs Saudi Arabia: Hosts desperate for good opener
Russia will be desperate for a good start at the 2018 World Cup as they take on Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday evening.
The hosts come into this contest as the lowest ranked side out of any of the 32 taking part. With a FIFA ranking of 65, they are even ranked lower than Saudi Arabia, who are the second-lowest ranked at 63.
The Sbornaya haven’t impressed whatsoever since being announced as hosts. They failed to make any inroads in the Confederations Cup last year on their own home soil, where they finished second from last. Their sole win was over New Zealand, but when pitted against much tougher opposition in the form of Portugal and Mexico, they came up short and crashed out at the group stage. Since then, they have won just one fixture, a 4-2 result against South Korea – a team who are coming into this tournament as the third-lowest ranked. And furthermore, the Taegeuk Warriors scored not one, but two awkward own goals during that contest, and still managed to rally back from four goals down to halve the deficit.
Russia did manage to record a 3-3 draw with European powerhouse Spain, but since the start of 2018 they’ve misfired against Brazil, France, and Austria. A 1-1 draw with Turkey in their last warm-up will have given their fans some hope ahead of the upcoming tournament, and fortunately for them, the selection deities have smiled on them and put them into a more favorable quartet. Uruguay are the obvious favorites to progress, whilst many have written off Saudi Arabia’s chances, meaning that it will likely be an interesting battle between Russia and Egypt for the runners-up spot.
Saudi Arabia, for their part, finally ended their three game goalless run against Germany, a team who infamously beat them 8-0 at the 2002 World Cup. Still, it wasn’t enough for the Green Falcons to avoid a 2-1 loss to die Mannschaft, and who are hoping to win their first game in 14 years. Since making it to the round of 16 in their debut campaign at the 1994 World Cup, Saudi Arabia have lost seven and drawn one of their matches in this tournament. Juan Antonio Pizzi’s men have experienced mixed results in their friendlies leading up to this tie; whilst they have lost their last three against Germany, Peru, and Italy, they have picked up confidence-boosting wins against Greece, Algeria, and minnows Moldova.
They’ve gone a series of managerial changes leading up to this contest, but will be hoping for improved results under Pizzi’s tenure. The Argentinian manager is famous for winning the Copa America with Chile in 2016 and despite his side being clear underdogs in their group, they, too, will fancy their chances in this game. After all, Russia aren’t a team who have struck any sort of fear into their opponents with their showings as of late, although they will have the backing of the home crowd which will certainly boost the team’s morale.
Saudi Arabia’s sole meeting with Russia ended as a victory for the Green Falcons, a 4-2 result in October 1993. Will they be able to announce their return to the greater global stage by taking down their struggling hosts? Or will Russia give their fans something to cheer about?
