Hosts Russia thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opener to end their run of seven games without a win. The game, which was broadcast on Russia's Channel One, became the most popular program on Russian TV in 2018.

According to the survey conducted by the Mediascope research company on Monday, a total of 9,793,000 Russians watched the broadcast of the game.

Russia is hosting the World Cup for the first time in history. The tournament, which kicked off on 14 June, will continue until 15 July, with the games set to take place in 11 cities across the country.