“The president will arrive to the France v Belgium match as part of a delegation in order to support his national team, as he said he would do if they advance to the semi-finals. He will arrive in St. Petersburg tomorrow,” said a French diplomat based in the city.

He did not specify the names of any other members of the delegation or named any possible official events that Macron might take part in while in St. Petersburg.

Earlier, the Elysee Palace also stated Macron would be taking the trip Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow welcomed the French president’s decision to visit Russia for the World Cup.

The semi-final match between France and Belgium will take place at the 64,500-seater St. Petersburg Stadium on Wednesday at 04:00am AEST.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, who watched Belgium beat Brazil 2-0 in the quarter-finals, is also expected to attend the semi-final encounter. King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium will be there, too.