Putin praises Russian team’s performance at World Cup

The president urged the players to "keep the fighting spirit" for the upcoming football events

KALININGRAD, July 20. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the performance of the Russian team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and urged the players to "keep the fighting spirit" for the upcoming football events. He personally thanked the team’s head coach Stanislav Cherhesov, who took part in the joint session of the Council for the Development of Physical Education and Sport, and the Russia-2018 Local Organizing Committee in Kaliningrad.

"I would like to note the good, uncompromising performance of our national team, that finally brought our fans the long-awaited joy of victory," Putin said. "But let me be direct, the head coach, all the coaching staff and support system, as well as the guys themselves have fought with honor, were a real team, they have astonished us with their resiliency, perseverance and quality of playing."

"It is important to keep the fighting spirit and remain united - the UEFA Nations League and Euro 2020 are upon us," the president stressed. Putin has urged the footballers "to prepare to these games just like for the World Cup." He added that this concerns not only the players and coaches, but also the Russian officials, because a number of games will be held in Russian cities: in St. Petersburg, Sochi, Rostov-on-Don and Kaliningrad.

"I ask the dedicated institutions and the regional heads to ensure a decent quality of these events, especially now that we have this great positive experience, we have unique innovations that our country has introduced, which received the highest evaluation by FIFA and the tournament guests," the Russian leaders said. According to Putin, among these innovations are the VAR system, free transport for fans on match days, and the Fan ID system, which virtually replaced visas.