"We asked, but the request was politely denied. The rules allow the organizers to make such decisions. We trained at the Luzhniki before, [now it's] Spain's turn... Every situation has its advantages. Our advantage was we did not have to leave [our Novogorsk base]," Cherchesov told journalists.

On Saturday morning, the team trained at their base camp in Novogorsk, just outside of Moscow.

The last time Russia played the 2010 World Cup winners Spain, was in a friendly in November 2017 where they held their opponents to a 3-3 draw.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off in Russia on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the games being played in 11 cities across the country.