"Russia has a good team. I hope they'll have a successful World Cup. They have strong opponents in their group, but they are able to progress to the knockout stage," Sirakov said.

He added that Russia head coach Stanislav Cherchesov and his staff were highly qualified specialists and that the team's recent poor form in friendlies was not a reason for concern.

"Footballers themselves could be thinking that these are only friendly matches, no one wants to get injured a week before the tournament begins," Sirakov added.

Russia were held to a 1-1 draw by Turkey at Moscow's CSKA Arena on Tuesday in their final warm-up match ahead of the World Cup, with the result extending Russia's winless streak to seven games.

Russia will host its first World Cup from June 14 to July 15. The fixtures will be played at 12 stadiums across 11 cities, with the host nation facing Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay in Group A.