Spain's decision to sack coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup will have little impact on the quality of the 2010 world champions' game, Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said on Thursday.

A member of parliament has said Russian women should not have “intimate relations” with foreigners during the World Cup and warned against biracial babies.

The mood was buoyant and politics was left on the touchline as thousands of Russian and foreign fans turned out to watch Thursday's World Cup opener between Russia and Saudi Arabia in a Moscow fan zone.

The festive Gazprom Football for Friendship Children's Championship, which saw budding footballers under the age of 12 from 211 countries participate, came to an end as the FIFA World Cup got underway through the opening match between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium yesterday.

The French will embark on their World Cup campaign with a tough encounter against a resolute Australian side. Although the Aussies

Key players

Egypt coach Hector Cuper said that star striker Mohamed Salah has recovered from his shoulder injury and will almost certainly play in their World Cup opener against Uruguay on Friday.

Finally let loose after a year-long diet of international friendlies, hosts Russia roar their World Cup intent to the rafters with a 5-0 tournament-opening win over Saudi Arabia.

The 2018 World Cup saw its first goal as Russia’s uri Gazinsky directs a header behind the reach of Saudi Arabia goalkeeper A-Mayoof.

Mohamed Salah recoveres from his shoulder injury and barring a last-minute hitch the Egyptian star will play in their World Cup opener against Uruguay on Friday, coach Hector Cuper said.

The World Cup trophy is displayed at Moscow's 80,000-seat Luzhniki Stadium ahead of the tournament's opening match between host nation Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Build-up to the opening ceremony and the opening match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Brazil legend Roberto Carlos has rubbed salt on Argentina and Lionel Messi’s wounds, saying that the mercurial No. 10 would already have a World Cup under his belt if he was Brazilian.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup begins today in Russia. Lets check out the time schedules of the main events related to the World Cup's opening day and where you can watch them.

Bangladesh has been ranked 20th among the football playing nations of Asia by the global football body, as the FIFA World Cup starts in Russia.

FIFA World Cup FIxtures

The 2026 World Cup will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada after FIFA's congress voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to back the tri-nation joint bid for the tournament and leave Morocco to miss out for the fifth time.

It was 8:30pm, but light of day still lingered over the Red Square in Moscow on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Despite it being a public holiday, there were swarms of inside the square, and overflowing the surrounding streets, cafes and restaurants. The presence of huge number of fans from around the world for the FIFA World Cup added an extra tinge of festivity to Russia's national day.

Nobody would have hand-picked the tournament's two worst teams to launch the 2018 World Cup, but when Russia and Saudi Arabia meet on Thursday form will be irrelevant as the world's biggest sporting festival explodes into life in Moscow.

Over the next month, Russia will serve up a football stroganoff spiced with enthralling matches, a dash of the world's finest players and the biggest prize in the sporting world -- the FIFA World Cup.