"The political leadership of Iceland and Sweden will not attend the upcoming FIFA World Cup as a sign of protest against the political situation in Russia," the Swedish radio station SR reported.

Swedish Health and Social Affairs Minister Annika Strandhall told SR that all members of the Swedish government would boycott the World Cup.

“There will be no official participation [of the Swedish government] in the opening ceremony and the scheduled matches,” Strandhall said.

Icelandic Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said that the country's government had decided to stay away from the tournament due to the strained relations between Russia and the European Union.

"I can say that by deciding to stay away from the World Cup the Icelandic government has symbolically expressed its support [for the European Union]," Jakobsdottir told the radio station.

She added that although Icelandic President Gudni Johannesson would not attend the tournament either, thousands of fans from Iceland would travel to Russia to support the national team.

The World Cup will be held in Russia between June 14 and July 15.

Iceland qualified for the World Cup Finals for the first time in history and were drawn in Group D where they will face two-time World Cup champions Argentina, Croatia and Nigeria, while Sweden will take on reigning champions Germany, Mexico and South Korea in Group F.