MOSCOW, June 15. /TASS/. The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia began in Moscow on Thursday night with a colorful ceremony and Russia’s thumping victory over Saudi Arabia in the opening game.

The long-awaited 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday at the legendary Luzhniki Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 80,000. The opener’s attendance was reported at over 78,000 spectators.

Both sides looked confident at the beginning of the opening game of the global football championship, however hosts Russia, backed by the thunderous roar of supporters at the home stadium, opened the score into the 15th minute of the match.

About half an hour into the first half, Russia’s scoring midfielder Alan Dzagoyev boosted off for an offensive rush on the goal of the opponents, but fell down. Head Coach Stanislav Cherchesov replaced injured Dzagoyev with Denis Cheryshev, who also plays as a left winger for Spain’s Villarreal.

Less than a minute remaining in the first half, it was Cheryshev to up the score, shooting the ball into the upper left of the Saudi Arabian net to leave 2-0 displayed on the stadium’s huge digital screens as both teams retreated for the 15-minute break.

About half an hour in the closing half, Russia’s Head Coach Cherchesov opted for another replacement and sent in Artyom Dzyba in place of Fyodor Smolov. The reshuffle brought an immediate result as less than a minute after hitting the pitch Dzyuba put a header into the right upper corner of the opponents’ net.

The score of 3-0 seemed to remain flashing unchanged until the final whistle in the game, but in the three-minute stretch of the added time Russia’s Denis Cheryshev upped the score to 4-0 with a swift shot of the ball over the Saudi Arabian goalkeeper.

This was not enough for the hosting team and less than a minute later Russia’s Alexander Golovin scored another goal with a free kick sealing the final score at impressive 5-0.

Russia, placed in Group A, is playing its next Group stage match against Egypt on June 19 in St. Petersburg, while Saudi Arabia is facing Uruguay on June 20 in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

In their post-game comments, Russian team players were cautious about their future games.

"We are not the team that can afford to relax after such a big victory," Alexander Samedov said.

Football holiday in Moscow

The Russian capital, which hosted the opener, has prepared numerous events for football fans, including in the central Manezh Square. Besides, many Moscow parks came up with their own unofficial football programs.

No disorderly behavior incidents have been reported during the opening match, the press service of the Interior Ministry’s Moscow department said. A spokesperson told TASS that police and National Guard officers as well as the organizers took all necessary measures to ensure law and order and the safety of people during the opener.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Mutko and General Director of the 2018 Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Alexei Sorokin said they were pleased with how the first game of the tournament was organized.

VIP guests

As usual, the World Cup opener has gathered an impressive number of VIP guests. Russian President Vladimir Putin made a welcoming speech several minutes before the start of the game. Putin watched the game from a VIP lounge, together with FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud.

The game was also attended by Russian deputy prime ministers, Vitaly Mutko and Olga Golodets, chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) Arkady Dvorkovich, honorary president of the Russian Olympic Committee Alexander Zhukov, political leaders Gennady Zyuganov and Vladimir Zhirinovsky, Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov, Russian Football Union (RFU) Acting President Alexander Alayev, Russian Football Premier League chief Sergey Pryadkin and others.

Fan zones start their work

On Thursday, official festivals of FIFA fans opened in host cities of the World Cup. Special fan zones were set up at local landmarks, which usually host major public events and concerts. In those areas, visitors can watch games, attend concerts and buy football memorabilia.

On the first day, fan zones in Russia’s two major cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg, have seen record attendance. Thousands of people, including fans from Peru, Colombia, Argentina and Brazil, gathered in the fan zone at Moscow’s Vorobyevy Gory (Sparrow Hills).

At some point, police and security officers had to close the Moscow fan zone, with a capacity of 25,000 people, because it was overcrowded.

Fan zones also opened in non-hosting Russian cities, including Syktyvkar, Vladimir and Tver.

Salah’s health in spotlight on second day

One of the highlights of Friday’s schedule will be the Group A game in Yekaterinburg between Egypt and Uruguay. The participation of Egypt's star striker Mohammed Salah, who had received a shoulder trauma in a collision with Real Madrid’s fullback Sergio Ramos in the final of the Champions League, is still unclear, although national team coaches express cautious optimism.

The Egyptian Football Association said Salah’s recovery period is unlikely to take more than three weeks, which is more than enough for him to take part in the World Cup. Recently, the player attended a pre-game training at the Yekaterinburg Arena stadium.

Egypt national team manager Hector Cuper said earlier this week that he was "almost 100% sure" of Salah’s participation.

During the remaining two Group B games on Friday, Morocco will face Iran in St. Petersburg (18:00 Moscow time), and Portugal will take on Spain in Sochi (21:00 Moscow time).