"[Putin's emotions were] positive. You know, after this game, he called the coach of our team [Stanislav Cherchesov] and congratulated him, noting, of course, that the main games lay ahead. Of course, he wished future successes to the team," Peskov told reporters, when asked what impression the Russia-Saudi Arabia match made on Putin.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday with the Russian national team having beaten Saudi Arabia 5-0. Putin watched the game at Moscow's 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium.

The World Cup will continue through July 15, with a total of 64 matches set to be played at 12 stadiums across 11 Russian cities.