Russia struggled big-time coming into the WC, and dealt with injuries, most didn’t have them making it out of the group.
Face it, if you can’t qualify out of the Asian group, like Saudi Arabia did, you’ve got to be pretty bad. Makes CONCACAF look like UEFA by comparison.
This is the biggest win by a World Cup host team in an opening game since Italy thrashed the USA 7-1 in 1934.
It takes nothing away from team Russia - they were at the top of their game and they just played world-class football and the fans hugely enjoyed their stellar performance.
I was rooting for them the whole time and they deserved this win. Russia put it over in Group A when it mattered.