Locals were able to watch Spain walk from the airport terminal to a bus, despite earlier being told that the squad would not be making a public appearance for security reasons.

"I will support Spain. I think, they are among those teams who have good chances to win the champions title. I like a lot of their players, but I like [midfielder Andres] Iniesta most of all," one of the fans said.

The bus headed straight to local FC Krasnodar's state-of-the-art training ground, where Spain will be based during the World Cup. Fans continued to wave flags as the bus was leaving the airport.

City residents also painted a huge graffiti mural of Spain defender and captain Sergio Ramos on the wall of a nine-story building that was located on the team's journey to the base from the airport.

The 2010 World Cup champions Spain will face Portugal, Morocco and Iran in Group B at the upcoming tournament.

On Saturday, they will play a pre-World Cup friendly against Tunisia in Krasnodar.

Russia will host its first World Cup from June 14 to July 15. The fixtures will be played at 12 stadiums across 11 cities.