The 35-day journey that is the 2018 World Cup kicked off in Russia on Thursday evening local time.... with a sensational and unexpected start by the host nation. <br />Won Jung-hwan reports from Moscow.<br /> <br /> The wait is finally over. <br />The 2018 Russia World Cup started the best way possible for the host nation with them smashing five goals past Saudi Arabia on Thursday evening in front of a jampacked and ecstatic Luzhniki Stadium. <br /> Prior to the sporting action on the pitch, there was the customary opening ceremony, but Russia mixed it up this year.<br />Breaking from tradition,... the opening ceremony focused on musical acts and even took place much closer to kick-off,… just half an hour before the start of the match. <br /> The opening game for this year's World Cup featured the two sides ranked the lowest in the entire competition.<br />Surprisingly, World Cup host nations have never lost their opening match and Russia never looked like losing that record against Saudi Arabia.<br /> In fact, Russia's five-nil win was the biggest opening match victory by a host nation since 1934.<br />The performance thrilled the Russian fans.<br /><br /> <br />"We are very exciting and we are happy, and the next game we will be here."<br /><br /> <br />"I feel crazy, our team scored five goals, too many times when I think about it, it's crazy, it's a historical time."<br /><br /> <br />"I am happy I am happy, my friend happy, five zero five zero yeah."<br /><br /> And the best thing for the home fans... is that Thursday's convincing win has given them a great chance to qualify from the group stage,... especially if they can put in a similar performance in their next two group games.<br /><br /> <br />"As the first game finally kicked off,… through July 15th, there will be 63 matches across Russia to decide the winner of the 2018 World Cup. <br />Won Jung-hwan, Arirang News, Moscow." <br />
