World Cup: Saudi Arabia boss Pizzi defiant after heavy opening loss to hosts Russia

Juan Antonio Pizzi has defended his performance as manager of Saudi Arabia despite his team being demolished 5-0 by hosts Russia in the first game of the World Cup on Thursday.While not backing away from the fact his team's shortcomings were severely exposed, Pizzi said that Russia played just as he expected and that it was simply his players' poor performance that led to the one-sided result."We knew exactly how they were going to play. I don't believe the opposing team has done anything to surprise us," said the man who took Chile to the 2016 Copa America title. "I fully respect them, I d…READ FULL ARTICLE