Russian players before Mexico game at Confederation Cup, photo courtesy of FIFA
CAIRO – 14 June 2018: Saudi Arabia faces the host nation, Russia, on Thursday afternoon at the opening game of the 2018 World Cup tournament.
For the first time in history an Arab team participates at the opening game of the World Cup.
Russia suffered a disastrous run during the friendly games before the World Cup, as they lost to Brazil, France and Austria, and they ended the game against Turkey with a 1-1 draw to enter the World Cup without a single victory in 2018.
Saudi Arabia players are seeking a repeat to their glory in their first participation in the World Cup in 1994 when they reached the second round.
The Arab team trained on Thursday at Luzhniki Stadium where the game is set to be played for the first time since their arrival in Russia.
Luzhniki Stadium, which hosts the opening game, was built in 1955 on the banks of Moskva River in Moscow. The stadium is considered one of the most famous sports facilities in Russia.
The stadium’s capacity is 81,000; however, its stand held 102,000 fans in the USSR’s game against Italy in 1963.
The stadium was destroyed in 2013 and was rebuilt to host the games of the 2018 World Cup.
Russia's expected line-up for the game consists of: Igor Akinfeev; Mario Fernandes, Fedor Kudryashov, Sergey Ignashevich, Yuri Zhirkov; Roman Zobnin, Daler Kuzyaev, Alan Dzagoev, Aleksandr Samedov, Aleksandr Golovin; Fedor Smolov.
Saudi Arabia's expected line-up for the game consists of: Abdullah al-Mayouf, Usamah Husawi, Omar Hosawi, Yasser al-Shahrani, Mohammed al-Barik; Abdullah Otif, Salman al-Faraj, Yahya al-Shihri, Taisir al-Jassim, Salem al Dosari; Fahad al Molad.
The game starts on 5:00 (CLT).
Comments
Leave a Comment