5 things from World Cup 2018 Day 1 - Just look at who's sitting in the posh seats

A Saudi Arabia's fan has his face painted before the match on 14 June 2018 at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Reuters/Gleb Garanich

• Get ahead to get a seat

The guest list at the opening match was impressive. There was José Mourinho, Arsène Wenger, Samuel Eto’o, Marcel Desailly, Paolo Maldini and Diego Maradona inter alia in the football royalty. As for presidents and the powerful: Vladimir Putin was there so too Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia. They fair jollied their way through the game Evo Morales of Bolivia, Juan Carlos Verela of Panama were also in the posh seats checking things out as well as the Russians thrashed the Saudis 5-0.

• Don’t start well

It was strange because at the beginning of the opening match, the Saudis looked very tasty. They were doing some pretty passing patterns. But then the hosts ruined the aesthetics by scoring a fairly prosaic goal. Yuri Gazinski rose highest to a cross and headed the ball past the Saudi goalkeeper Abdullah Al Muaiouf. 1-0. And the rest was agony.

• Something had to give

The researchers had a field day after the first 45 minutes during which Russia scored two goals. We, the uninformed and unaware, were told that the side which had scored first in the opening game of the last two World Cups had failed to win. But then no side had ever recovered from trailing by two goals to win an opening game at the World Cup. A trend was well and truly bucked. After 90 minutes and a 5-0 scoreline. More came out. It was the biggest opening game match since Italy annihilated the USA 7-1 in 1934.

• One man’s woe is another man’s brace of joy

Denis Cheryshev started Russia’s World Cup opening game on the bench. But midway through the first half, the 27-year-old Villareal midfielder was called into action. Alan Dzagoev started sprinting up field on a counter attack but suddenly stopped running and fell in HD slo-mo to the ground clutching the back of his left thigh. It looked like a twanged hamstring twanged. And the lad’s face as he hobbled off told the tale of World Cup joy dashed. Cheryshev scampered on in Dzagoev’s stead and - lo and behold - struck the second goal on the cusp of half-time courtesy of some deft footwork and a rasping drive.

So the score stayed until the 71st minute. Artem Dzyuba added Russia’s third and coach Stanislav Cherchesov finally permitted himself a smile. In fact he allowed himself to punch the air – several times – with both hands, actually. And there were two more glimpses of his ivory white teeth and clenched fists in the final three minutes. Cheryshev stroked home the fourth from the edge of the box with impish nonchalance to become the first substitute to score in the opening match of a World Cup – bet that was on his mind - and Aleksandr Golovin curled in a free-kick. A nation could be proud of their sons of toil. Had they failed, one suspects they’d probably have been buried in their football kits under tons of soil.

• High five brings high stakes

If Russia, the lowest ranked side, can smash five past Saudi Arabia what will Egypt and Uruguay do to them? That prospect must have been gnawing into the minds of the Saudi players as they slumped off the field at the Luzhniki Stadium. Roundly thrashed. This result means that Russia might be in the running to advance if they can nick a draw against one or both of the putative better teams of Egypt and Uruguay. Saudi Arabia will be playing for pride after this.  Neither Egypt nor Uruguay will be looking for a cosy draw in their match on day two because odds are they won’t be able to stick loads of goals past the Saudis.