"If Russia meet Germany [at the World Cup], I think it will be a great success for our team. But [we must] reach the knockout stage first, so maybe in the semi-finals. I wouldn't mind that," Zhukov said.

Russian lawmakers met with the German Bundestag's vice president Wolfgang Kubicki on Wednesday during his visit to Russia.

The Russian State Duma's deputy speaker Irina Yarovaya added that Russian lawmakers were looking forward to meeting their German counterparts at a Russian-German Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group meeting.

"We are ready to welcome the group here in Russia, we are ready to send our group to Germany. We can consider any cooperation format. We hope to set the date for the meeting before the [World Cup] match," Yarovaya said.

Russia's first-ever World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 arenas in 11 cities across the country. The host nation will face Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Uruguay in Group A, while Germany are set to take on Mexico, Sweden and South Korea in Group F.