MOSCOW, July 9, 2018 (BSS/TASS)-Russian President Vladimir Putin still
plans to attend only the final match of the 2018 FIFA World cup, Kremlin
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, noting that the head of state rooted for the
Russian team.
“The fact that the president did not attend the matches [of the Russian
team] does not mean that [he didn’t cheer for the Russian football players:]
he did root for our team,” Peskov said in a conversation with reporters. The
Kremlin spokesman reiterated that “the president kept in contact with [chief
coach of the team Stanislav] Cherchesov.” “[Putin] cheered [for the team,]
and was aware of all current events,” the spokesman stressed.
Peskov explained that “initially, the president’s schedule contained no
attendance of any games save the opening and closing matches.” “We expect the
president to attend the closing match,” he said.
The Russian team left the tournament, having lost to Croatia in a series
of penalty shootouts in the World Cup quarterfinal on July 7. The World Cup
final match will take place on July 15 in Moscow.