"I don't agree with those who say that Russia are the weakest team at the tournament. I see it like this, there will be five to six World Cup favorites who will fight for the trophy. The rest are on equal terms, some of them will play well, some won't. Russia could be among these teams," Khlestov said.

 He added that if Russia did not reach the knockout stage it would be in no way a disaster for the Russian football.

The Russian national team have played at three FIFA World Cups so far but have never made it past the group stage, while the Soviet Union claimed fourth place at the 1966 World Cup in England.

Hosts Russia will take on Saudi Arabia in the opening match of the World Cup on June 14 before facing their other two opponents in Group A, Egypt and Uruguay.

Russia’s first-ever FIFA World Cup will take place from June 14 to July 15 in 11 cities across the country, Moscow, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Yekaterinburg.