Putin also wished the Russian players further success in the football tournament.

Russia beat Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the first match of the tournament at Moscow's 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium earlier in the day.

From 14 June to 15 July, Russia is hosting the FIFA World Cup for the first time in its history. Matches will be played in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Volgograd, and Samara.