Russia 2018: Russia 5 Saudi Arabia 0: Cheryshev, Golovin star in World Cup opener

Denis Cheryshev scored his first Russia goals as the World Cup hosts brushed Saudi Arabia aside at Luzhniki Stadium.

Denis Cheryshev scored a brace and Aleksandr Golovin starred as Russia kicked off their first home World Cup with a rampant 5-0 Group A win over a lacklustre Saudi Arabia side in Moscow.

Yuri Gazinskiy and Cheryshev struck first-half goals to open their international accounts at Luzhniki Stadium, Artem Dzyuba adding a third 89 seconds after his introduction as a second-half replacement, but an injury to star man Alan Dzagoev will cause concern for Russia

Dzagoev hurt his hamstring in the opening period and could be a doubt for the rest of the tournament, depending on the results of a scan.