Putin to attend FIFA World Cup opening match

Moscow May 4 (IANS) Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the 2018 FIFA World Cup opening match between Russia and Saudi Arabia on June 14 Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday.

"As of now I can say for sure that the president will attend the World Cup opening match which will involve Team Russia and Team Saudi Arabia " he said reports Tass news agency.

When asked if the president planned to attend any other World Cup matches Peskov said that "everything will depend on how things go".

The 2018 FIFA World Cup the first-ever hosted by Russia will be held between June 14 and July 15 in 11 Russian cities -- Moscow St. Petersburg Kazan Nizhny Novgorod Saransk Kaliningrad Volgograd Yekaterinburg Samara Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.

Russia Saudi Arabia Egypt and Uruguay will make up Group A while Group B will include Portugal Spain Iran and Morocco. Group C is going to consist of France Australia Peru and Denmark while Group D will be Argentina Iceland Croatia and Nigeria. Group E will be composed of Brazil Switzerland Costa Rica and Serbia. Group F has Germany Mexico Sweden and South Korea while Group G will encompass Belgium Panama Tunisia and England. Finally Group H has Poland Colombia Senegal and Japan.

The World Cup opening match will be between Russia and Saudi Arabia. During the group stage Russia will also play with Egypt on June 19 and with Uruguay on June 25.

--IANS
pur/bg