It has been like rainbow after rain in Moscow for the last couple of days as fans from across the world have thronged the Russian capital and other cities in their thousands ahead of the World Cup, which kicks off at the Luzhniki Stadium today.

The Seleccao are among the favourites going into the World Cup and while some may boil that down to the presence of Neymar, there

It was 8:30pm, but light of day still lingered over the Red Square in Moscow on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. Despite it being a public holiday, there were swarms of inside the square, and overflowing the surrounding streets, cafes and restaurants. The presence of huge number of fans from around the world for the FIFA World Cup added an extra tinge of festivity to Russia's national day.

Nobody would have hand-picked the tournament's two worst teams to launch the 2018 World Cup, but when Russia and Saudi Arabia meet on Thursday form will be irrelevant as the world's biggest sporting festival explodes into life in Moscow.

Over the next month, Russia will serve up a football stroganoff spiced with enthralling matches, a dash of the world's finest players and the biggest prize in the sporting world -- the FIFA World Cup.

Argentina reserve goalkeeper Nahuel Guzman says the squad must do everything in their power to allow Lionel Messi to perform at his best during the World Cup in Russia.

Superstar Mohamed Salah gave Egypt's World Cup hopes a boost as he joined a squad training session at their Grozny base on Wednesday, a day after coming under heavy criticism for a smiling photo with Ramzan Kadyrov, strongman of Chechnya.

The sight of Lionel Messi is always a spectator's delight. And if the Argentina superstar is to be seen just hand-shaking distance away it is well worth the hour-and-a-half drive from Moscow to the tranquil setting of Syro Ezhkon Sports School training site.

Spain named federation sporting director Fernando Hierro as its World Cup coach to replace Julen Lopetegui, who was sensationally sacked after his appointment as Real Madrid manager.

The greatest show on the earth will begin June 14 with the opening ceremony of the World Cup and ahead of the grand festivities Russia prepared to show off their culture and traditions through dancers, performers and other big-name headline acts in front of the world.

Egypt's Mohamed Salah gave his countrymen a World Cup boost as he join a squad training session at their Grozny base.

Brazil's former legendary player Roberto Carlos believes that Brazil have lost their essence under manager Tite but acknowledges that the team is more solid now.

Jose Mourinho predicts a stunning clash between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the final of the World Cup 2018 -- the two greats of this generation, but he leaves the final outcome of the game to the imagination of the football fans.

Brazil are looking for their sixth world title and according to former Selecao legend Ronaldo, the country's hopes lie with Neymar.

The World Cup is arousing high passions in Bangladesh, where machete-wielding fans of Brazil and Argentina have clashed in the streets and flags of the two countries are so ubiquitous that some people want to ban them.

Two strikes from captain Robert Lewandowski followed by goals from Dawid Kownacki and Jakub Blaszczykowski give Poland a 4-0 victory over Lithuania in their final pre-World Cup friendly in Warsaw on Tuesday.

Ball Girls selected for opener

FIFA members will decide on Wednesday whether the 2026 World Cup should be played in North America or in Morocco, taking football's global showpiece to Africa for just the second time.

Around 400 eager fans turned out at Argentina's World Cup base camp to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi and his teammates at an open training session.

Germany landed in Moscow on Tuesday to attempt to successfully defend their World Cup title and hoping to leave the political controversy surrounding Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan behind them.