Russia vs Saudi Arabia Match Ratings, World Cup 2018

Russia 5 vs Saudi Arabia 0

Russia

4-2-3-1

GK I.Akinfeev 6

Akinfeev had a rather uneventful match, Saudi Arabia managed zero shots on goal.

RB M.Fernandes 7.5

Fernandes is one of Russia's most talented players. I think there's a strong argument to be made he's the best Brazilian RB at the World Cup. Fernandes had a strong, if subdued shift defensively. He finished the match with two tackles and four interceptions. He didn't get forward as often as I expected, although he had a passing accuracy of 85%, and had a key pass (a pass which leads to a scoring chance). I'm less than confident in the chemistry between he and Samedov, as Samedov is a traditional right footed winger. Fernandes did make a great run that Samedov missed, which would have seen Fernandes run behind alone on goal.

CB I.Kutepov 7

CB S.Ignashevich 7

Kutepov and Ignashevich were not sternly tested; Saudi Arabia rarely had the ball in their attacking third. However, they did their duty when called upon. They combined for three tackles, three interceptions, and eight clearances.

LB Y.Zhirkov 7.5

Zhirkov did well on both sides of the ball. He shut down his side on defense, and consistently helped out the attack. Zhirkov had seven touches in the final third, and three inside the box. He also finished the match with four tackles.

CM I.Gazinskiy 7.5

Gazinskiy is the answer to the trivia question: Who was the first goal scorer in the 2018 World Cup? Gazinskiy's goal was interesting, because he was generally Russia's deepest-lying midfielder. In fact, his strike was the only touch he had in their attacking third. A part from the goal, Gazinskiy was good, but didn't stand out with Zobnin and Golovin playing in front of him.

CM R.Zobnin 8

Zobnin is an engine. He has tremendous work-rate, and good pace. In the first half it seemed as though he was constantly in the right place to pick a pass, or make a tackle. He finished the match with a team-high six tackles. He played as a true box-to-box midfielder, and was threatening in the final third. He had seven touches in-or-around the box, leading to two shots, two key passes, and an assist. The only reason Zobnin's rating isn't a 9 (or 10), is his horrid passing accuracy. He completed just 58% of his passes. That's exceptionally poor.

RM A.Samedov 6

Samedov did not have the same impact as many of his teammates. Even so, he was good in possession, and didn't make mistakes. He did miss read an attack, where he had Fernandes making a run on his right in space, but Samedov put a poor shot on instead.

CAM A.Dzagoev 6.5

Dzagoev left early in the twenty-third minute with an apparent hamstring injury. That could have been a huge blow to Russia, but it turned out well, with Golovin (who moved inside to the 10-role in place of Dzagoev), and the substitute, Cheryshev excelling. Dzagoev is going to get looked over due to the performance of those two, but he was playing well prior to the injury.

LM/CAM A.Golovin 9

Golovin is the man-of-the-match. He played incredible, and really shined when moved centrally after Dzagoev's injury. Golovin finished the match with a goal, two assists, and (a match high) five key passes. Golovin scored in stoppage time from a free kick just outside the box. Golovin proved to be a two-way player, and is capable of playing box-to-box. He had four tackles and three interceptions. Unfortunately—and the reason Golovin didn't receive a 10—he committed seven fouls, many in the final fifteen minutes when he was visually exhausted. He picked up a yellow card in the waning minutes following a silly foul. Russia cannot afford to lose Golovin, especially since it looks like Dzagoev could be out for the tournament, and another yellow in one of the next two matches would mean a match ban.

ST F.Smolov 4.5

Smolov was the player on Russia's squad who struggled the most. He was dispossessed a match-high nine times, and did not attempt a shot. Smolov consistently dropped back to receive the ball, playing like a false-nine, but could not beat his defenders on the ball. Most of Smolov's first touches came far outside the box. Smolov is 6'2”, and should have been an able target forward for Russia. However, that was not a part of his game Thursday. He was taken off for Dzyuba, who is a traditional target forward, in the second half.

LM D.Cheryshev 9

Cheryshev was called in for duty halfway through the first half after Dzagoev was injured. He made the most of the opportunity, scoring two goals. He found plenty of space on the left wing, and was often left open by the Saudi Arabian defense, who were playing too narrow at the back. Cheryshev proved to be technical on the ball, with a great first touch in the box, before his first goal. Following this performance, Cheryshev should become an important part of Russia's squad moving forward. The one downside is, he is less defensive than Golovin and Dzagoev, and that may be critical point in matches against Egypt and Uruguay.

RM D.Kuzyaev 5

Kuzyaev came in for Samedov in the second half, but was largely anonymous.

ST A.Dzyuba 9

Dzyuba replaced Smolov in the sixty-ninth minute. He proved to be the key to unlock Saudi-Arabia's defense. Russia scored three of their five goals in the twenty minute period Dzyuba was on the pitch. In fact, he scored just a minute later on a header. Dzyuba is massive target forward at 6'5”, and it was clear he added a dynamic to the match that Saudi Arabia couldn't handle. He finished the match with a goal, and an assist. It will be interesting to see if Russia decides to swap Dzyuba for Smolov in their next starting eleven.

Saudi Adabia

4-1-4-1

GK Abdullah 4

RB Al-Burayk 4

CB Osama 6

CB Omar 4

LB Yasser 4

CDM Otayf 4

RM Yahia 3

CM Salman 5

CM Taiseer 3

LM Salem 4

ST Al-Sahlawi 3

ST Fahad 4

RM Hatan 4

ST Aseri 3

 Saudi Arabia had an absolutely abysmal match. They weren't able to put any of their six shots on goal. They dominated possession 61%:39%, but the ball spent only 15% of the match in their opponent's third. They consistently gave away possession in the midfield. Al-Sahlawi, their lone striker, was hardly on the ball. Sure, you can blame some of that on a lack of service, but the team was struggling, and he's possibly the team's most important player, he needs to find a way to get involved. Osama Hawsawi, the team's most veteran player and captain, did all he could, accumulating five tackles, four clearances, and two interceptions. Saudi Arabia's back line tended to pinch in, which left opportunities on the wings. Saudi Arabia will have an uphill climb to earn a point this tournament. Remember, Russia was ranked the lowest of all the team's in the field, entering the World Cup.