The fallout from Saudi Arabia's heavy opening game defeat at the hands of Russia continues with three players singled out by their governing body.

The 2018 World Cup hosts punished the Arabian side on Friday (NZT) scoring a 5-0 win to virtually eliminate Saudi Arabia from the tournament.

Hailed as one of the worst performances in recent World Cup history, the five-goal drubbing was the biggest by a side in the opening match since Brazil squashed Mexico by the same margin in 1954.

The Telegraph reports that the Head of the Saudi Football Federation, Adel Ezzat has expressed his disappointment over such a heavy loss on the world's biggest stage, and put three players on notice.

"This result is totally unsatisfactory, because it does not reflect the true level of our preparedness," Ezzat said.

Several players will face a penalty – goalkeeper Abdullah Al Mayouf, striker Muhammad Al Sahlawi and defender Omar Hawsawi.

The country's sports authority chief, Turki al-Sheikh evened apologised to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who watched the game alongside Vladimir Putin in the Russian presidents' private box.

Al-Sheikh said the team 'blackened' his face with their performance.

The Saudi's are unlikely to progress to the second-round needing back-to-back wins over Uruguay and Morocco and hope that other results go their way.

Newshub.