Earlier on Tuesday, World Cup hosts Russia were held to a 1-1 draw by Turkey in their final pre-World Cup friendly at the VEB Arena in Moscow.

“There were a lot of people in the stands, which made it a nice [environment] to play. Now we understand that it is a huge responsibility to play at home in front of our fans, that’s why we need to play well, in order to make those [fans] who watch happy… Today I played alongside Sergei Ignashevich for the first time, and to sum it up, playing alongside him was a relaxing and comfortable experience,” Kutepov told journalists.

The CSKA Moscow defender Ignashevich, was named in the squad by head coach Stanislav Cherchesov after having come out of retirement. He is Russia’s most capped player, having made 122 appearances for his country since 2002.

Russia will kick-off the World Cup on June 14 when they take on Saudi Arabia in the opening match at the 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. The two countries are joined in Group A by Egypt and Uruguay. The World Cup final will take place on July 15.