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#3 Saudi Arabia stood tall in the middle; wilted on either end
The minnows were more than comfortable on the ball, as long as it was in the centre of the park. They moved the ball around well enough - with good touches and close control, often forming triangle across the pitch to ensure superiority in numbers.
All this meant that they enjoyed a lot of the ball. In fact, they ended up with 62% of possession against the hosts. How often have you seen that happen; one side keep the ball for around three-fifths of the game and the other side scores five goals?
The defending at the back was uncertain and timid. They ended up conceding a goal in almost every possible way they could: crosses from either flank into the box culminating in headers, on the counter for Cheryshev's first, the liberty for the same player to take a shot on from the edge of the box while three men in green chose to look on, and then from a dead-ball situation.
The attacking side of things was just as disappointing as the Saudis failed to find the quality needed for the telling ball, or the firepower upfront, to trouble the scorers. In a match that is going to be as fiercely contested as this edition of the World Cup, you cannot expect to get away with such glaring problems in the setup - as it so fatefully proved in the end.
