"The World Cup in Russia is coming to end. We are proud of what we managed to do for the fans of this wonderful sport. We ourselves and the whole country enjoyed interacting with football, the world of football, the fans who have come from all over the world," Putin said during the ceremony of handling the World Cup hosts mantle to Qatar.

The ceremony, which was held in the Kremlin, was also attended by Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14. France will face Croatia in the final match at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium later on Sunday at 18:00 local time (15:00 GMT).