Earlier, Mourinho predicted that Russia would finish second in their FIFA World Cup group, while Spain would win theirs, meaning the two teams will meet in the first round of the knockout stage.

"I think Russia [were] very unlucky with the draw because Spain is really a fantastic team," Mourinho said as quoted by the RT television channel.

He also expects reigning champions Germany to play Argentina in the semi-finals, four years after the Argentine side missed their chance to claim their third World Cup title, losing to Germany 1-0 in the final in Brazil.

According to Mourinho, the other semi-final match will be played between reigning European champions Portugal and five-time World Cup winners Brazil, who will have beaten France and England respectively.

Russia will host its first-ever FIFA World Cup from June 14 to July 15, with the games set to be held in a total of 11 cities. The tournament will kick off at Moscow's 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium on Thursday, with the host nation facing Saudi Arabia.