11 things we loved on day one: Messi, Zlatan, Cheryshev, prisons & more

Planet Football • 15 Jun 2018

Denis Cheryshev lit up the opening game of the World Cup with two stunning goals, while Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Jose Mourinho also grabbed our attention as the tournament got underway.

Russia defeated Saudi Arabia 5-0 to start the World Cup with a bang, with Robbie Williams causing controversy as he appeared to swear on camera during his opening ceremony performance.

We’ve taken a look at the pick of the stories from the first day of the greatest competition on Earth.

Denis Cheryshev

Doing this in the World Cup opener – the first ever substitute to score in the first game of the tournament – is pretty special. We can’t get enough of that flick over the defenders.

Cheryshev keeps a cool head in the box, turns two Saudi defenders and the substitute powers the ball high into the net pic.twitter.com/vH7o2sFla8

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2018

Messi hair

World Cup fever has really got to both this barber and the brave soul who let him do this.

How excited are you for the #WorldCup on a scale of 1 to THIS GUY?

This hairdresser in Novi Sad, Serbia is clipping 'portraits' of stars like Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo onto the back of heads 😱 pic.twitter.com/QTGPanVbDy

— DW News (@dwnews) June 13, 2018

Portugal

Full football socks with their casual attire? Strange to say the least.

#WelcomeToSochi pic.twitter.com/PFDtuEXaLK

— Portugal (@selecaoportugal) June 14, 2018

Denis Cheryshev

And then he went and did this.

GOAL! Cheryshev bends the ball with the outside of his left boot from 25 yards pic.twitter.com/EGP12ApXA4

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 14, 2018

Zlatan Ibrahimovic

“It’s the football biggest party to play a World Cup. All the best players are there. Zlatan is not there, but he should have been there,” he said, in the third person, before stating that by not being there, there is no pressure on Sweden to do well.

"I'm the one in control and the one who decides who is going to be the coach or not. According to the media they don't need me, so I don't have to be there during the premiere. Just enjoy, there is no pressure because I'm not there." – Zlatan Ibrahimovic

— 🇸🇪 (@SwedeStats) June 14, 2018

Antoine Griezmann

This is cheeky to say the least. And we love a chip.

Toucher de balle: 💯@AntoGriezmann #FiersdetreBleus pic.twitter.com/qS1LhLqqlG

— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 14, 2018

Vaud, Switzerland

The state of Vaud in Switzerland has really gone one-up in their preparations for the World Cup, by setting specific rules for car horn use after matches.

“The end of the matches will inevitably generate gatherings of fans who will express their joy or their disappointment, notably by forming motorcades of vehicles in the urban centers and by honking continuously,” reads a statement.

“These gatherings, as long as they do not unduly disrupt traffic and public order, will be tolerated. We will be lenient on the noise of the fans and the horns to show joy or disappointment will be tolerated during a period of sixty minutes, at the end of the match.”

Robbie Williams

If that didn’t get you pumped, what will?

Let me……entertain you #RobbieWilliams #WorldCup pic.twitter.com/xgymyjJkLj

— Robbie Williams Brasil (@RWBRasilShow) June 14, 2018

Russian upgrades

Imprisoned for 30 days after organising an illegal protest, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was released on the day the World Cup began, posting this tongue-in-cheek Instagram post about improvements in the standard of the prison.

“It’s clear that authorities are not ruling out having to arrest drunk England fans for bad behaviour, and they don’t want to add insult to injury,” he said.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bj_zSf3H4kS/?hl=en&taken-by=navalny

John Jupp

This flag apparently cost him £380. Come on England. Do it for John.

C'mon England! John Jupp from Blyton's certainly got into the 2018 Fifa World Cup spirit!! pic.twitter.com/Jf8I3gEooz

— BBC Lincolnshire (@BBCRadioLincs) June 14, 2018