South Korea’s manager Shin Tae-yong made his players wear different shirts in pre-World Cup friendlies to confuse 'Swedish spies'.

Mexicans jumping in jubilation on Sunday shook the ground hard enough to set off earthquake detectors and throngs danced in the streets after their team scored a surprise victory over World Cup defending champion Germany.

A taxi drives into a crowd of pedestrians near Moscow's Red Square, injuring seven people including two Mexicans in the city for the soccer World Cup which Russia is hosting, officials and eyewitnesses say.

The Spartak Moscow Arena turned into a theatre of dreams for World Cup debutants Iceland when they held two-time champions Argentina to a 1-1 draw.

Tiny Iceland made a stunning first-ever World Cup appearance on Saturday when they held 2014 runners-up Argentina to a 1-1 draw in a dramatic match where Lionel Messi blew his chance to win it when he had a penalty saved by Hannes Por Halldorsson.

You can’t ask for a better start to a World Cup as far as the first couple of days of Russia 2018 is concerned. The hosts got off to a dream start with a 5-0 thrashing of Saudi Arabia at the Luzhniki Stadium on the opening day.

Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli, revealing his starting line-up a day early, is going for safety-first experience in pairing Javier Mascherano and Lucas Biglia in midfield to contain Iceland in Saturday's World Cup Group D opener.

Denis Cheryshev struck twice for Russia as the World Cup hosts thumped Saudi Arabia 5-0 in the opening match of the tournament in Moscow yesterday.

The World Cup kicked off in Russia Thursday as the host nation took on Saudi Arabia in front of 80,000 people in Moscow after President Vladimir Putin officially declared the tournament open.

Achilles, a deaf white cat who is the official animal soothsayer for the tournament, choose a bowl of food bearing the host's flag rather than that of Saudi Arabia, who Russia will face today's evening.

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.

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.

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.

Three Portugal stars currently in Russia getting ready for the World Cup tell club Sporting Portugal they will break their contracts, the club said.

Poland defender Kamil Glik clears by his club Monaco to play at the World Cup after making an unexpectedly quick recovery from a shoulder ligament injury.

Three international stars will thrill the fans in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.

Brazil superstar Neymar levels with Romario for third position on Brazil’s all-time leading goal-scorer list as he scored his 55th for the country against Austria in an international friendly.

Iceland need police help to keep their World Cup plans on track after coach Heimir Hallgrimsson put his bag on the wrong bus in a comical start to their debut campaign.

A 70-year-old German fan is hoping he can reach Russia to enjoy the World Cup on a 30kph tractor within 10 days.