Hosts Russia dominated the first half of the FIFA World Cup opener against Saudi Arabia at the 80,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium on June 14.
The World Cup gets underway this week, with all eyes on Russiaas the country readies to stage the greatest show on earth.
Host nation Russia thrashed Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening match of the World Cup to start their tournament in style in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday.
Russian president Vladimir Putin addressed the crowd and the worldwide television audience in a lengthy speech, calling football a uniting force.
Russian president Vladimir Putin then gave a speech at the Luzhniki Stadium.”We are sincerely happy to host the World Cup in our country,” he said.”Football is truly loved here. Russia is an open, hospitable and friendly country.”
After Putin, Fifa president Gianni Infantino also gave a speech in Russian, English and Arabic.”As of today, for one month football will conquer Russia and from Russia football will conquer the whole world – enjoy the biggest celebration on earth,” he said.
Official FIFA ambassador – and former Miss Russia – Victoria Lopyreva then emerged with the official match ball for the World Cup opener, while former Brazil star Ronaldo was accompanied by official mascot Zabivaka.
FIFA’s official sales agency in India for the 2018 World Cup, India is amongst the top 10 countries in terms of number of match tickets bought.
US tops the list with 16,642 tickets bought by fans followed by countries like Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Peru, Germany, China, Australia and India.
