The Ultimate FIFA 2018 Russia Guide

Thousands of travelers have Russia on their 2018 travel radar as this vast country is hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In this guide we have put together everything you need to know about the city hosts, game schedule and available train connections between the cities.

City-Hosts

There is a total of 11 city-hosts spread across Russia that will welcome soccer fans from around the globe. Here is a list of the cities hosting the 2018 FIFA World Cup and the names of venues where the games will be held:

FIFA host cities
  • Moscow - Luzhniki Stadium & Spartak Stadium
  • Saint Petersburg - Saint Petersburg Stadium
  • Kaliningrad - Kaliningrad Stadium
  • Kazan - Kazan Arena
  • Nizhny Novgorod - Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
  • Samara - Samara Stadium Cosmos Arena
  • Volgograd - Volgograd Arena
  • Saransk - Mordovia Arena
  • Rostov-On-Don - Rostov Arena
  • Sochi - Fisht Olympic Stadium
  • Ekaterinburg - Ekaterinburg Stadium

You can learn more about the 11 Russian city-hosts and their top unmissable attractions here.

 

Commuting Between Cities & Routes

Most soccer fans who plan to travel to Russia for the 2018 FIFA World Cup choose to combine watching soccer games with a sightseeing experience and therefore have multiple Russia destinations on their travel itinerary.

Taking trains is the easiest way to commute between the Russian cities, as opposed to flights or buses. Thus traveling on train between the host cities is a definitely a good idea as it will provide you with the opportunity to not only travel in comfort but to save time.

Why? For starters, train stations are always located in the city centers. Plus, Russian trains run like clockwork and depart and arrive on time (fact). Moreover, you won't need to spend time on long check-in procedures and on getting to airports, most of which are located on the outskirts of town. And lastly and mainly you won't need to waste time being stuck in heavy traffic (as such Moscow and St. Petersburg have bad repute for super long traffic jams).

Russia has a very developed rail network with multiple daily departures. We advise to pre-plan your upcoming trip to Russia and buy your train tickets as early as possible to get hold of the best seats and rates. Here you can book Russian train tickets on Russian Trains.

Train tickets online

 

Game Schedule

A total of 32 participant teams will compete for victory in the 2018 FIFA World Cup championship. The draw to allocate teams was held on December 1st, 2017, meaning you can already start arranging your trip (for details see our FIFA 2018 Russia Route Planner).

The first opening match will take place on June 14th, 2018 at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium. Play-offs will begin on June 30th, 2018 and the final match is scheduled for July 15th, 2018. To get best rates, it is advisable to purchase the game tickets as early as possible. You can get detailed info on the game schedule, broken down by dates and cities, below.

Date
City
Time
Stadium
Group
Team
June 14th
Moscow
6 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
A
Russia vs Saudi Arabia
June 15th
Ekaterinburg
5 p.m.
Ekaterinburg Arena
A
Egypt vs Uruguay
June 15th
Saint Petersburg
6 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
B
Morocco vs Iran
June 15th
Sochi
9 p.m.
Fisht Stadium
B
Portugal vs Spain
June 16th
Kazan
1 p.m.
Kazan Arena Stadium
C
France vs Australia
June 16th
Moscow
4 p.m.
Spartak Stadium
D
Argentina vs Iceland
June 16th
Saransk
7 p.m.
Mordovia Arena
C
Peru vs Denmark
June 16th
Kaliningrad
9 p.m.
Kaliningrad Stadium
D
Croatia vs Nigeria
June 17th
Samara
4 p.m.
Samara Arena
E
Costa Rica vs Serbia
June 17th
Moscow
6 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
F
Germany vs Mexico
June 17th
Rostov-on-Don
9 p.m.
Rostov Arena
E
Brazil vs Switzerland
June 18th
Nizhny Novgorod
3 p.m.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
F
Sweden vs Korea Republic
June 18th
Sochi
6 p.m.
Fisht Stadium
G
Belgium vs Panama
June 18th
Volgograd
9 p.m.
Volgograd Arena
G
Tunisia vs England
June 19th
Saransk
3 p.m.
Mordovia Arena
H
Colombia vs Japan
June 19th
Moscow
6 p.m.
Spartak Stadium
H
Poland vs Senegal
June 19th
Saint Petersburg
9 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
A
Russia vs Egypt
June 20th
Moscow
3 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
B
Portugal vs Morocco
June 20th
Rostov-on-Don
6 p.m.
Rostov Arena
A
Uruguay vs Saudi Arabia
June 20th
Kazan
9 p.m.
Kazan Arena
B
Iran vs Spain
June 21st
Samara
4 p.m.
Samara Arena
C
Denmark vs Australia
June 21st
Ekaterinburg
8 p.m.
Ekaterinburg Arena
C
France vs Peru
June 21st
Nizhny Novgorod
9 p.m.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
D
Argentina vs Croatia
June 22nd
Saint Petersburg
3 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
E
Brazil vs Costa Rica
June 22nd
Volgograd
6 p.m.
Volgograd Arena
D
Nigeria vs Iceland
June 22nd
Kaliningrad
8 p.m.
Kaliningrad Stadium
E
Serbia vs Switzerland
June 23rd
Moscow
3 p.m.
Spartak Stadium
G
Belgium vs Tunisia
June 23rd
Sochi
9 p.m.
Fisht Stadium
F
Germany vs Sweden
June 23rd
Rostov-on-Don
6 p.m.
Rostov Arena
F
South Korea vs Mexico
June 24th
Nizhny Novgorod
3 p.m.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
G
England vs Panama
June 24th
Ekaterinburg
8 p.m.
Ekaterinburg Stadium
H
Japan vs Senegal
June 24th
Kazan
9 p.m.
Kazan Arena
H
Poland vs Colombia
June 25th
Volgograd
5 p.m.
Volgograd Arena
A
Saudi Arabia vs Egypt
June 25th
Samara
6 p.m.
Samara Arena
A
Uruguay vs Russia
June 25th
Saransk
9 p.m.
Mordovia Arena
B
Iran vs Portugal
June 25th
Kaliningrad
8 p.m.
Kaliningrad Stadium
B
Spain vs Morocco
June 26th
Moscow
5 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
C
Denmark vs France
June 26th
Sochi
5 p.m.
Fisht Stadium
C
Australia vs Peru
June 26th
Saint Petersburg
9 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
D
Nigeria vs Argentina
June 26th
Rostov-on-Don
9 p.m.
Rostov Arena
D
Iceland vs Croatia
June 27th
Kazan
5 p.m.
Kazan Arena
F
South Korea vs Germany
June 27th
Ekaterinburg
7 p.m.
Ekaterinburg Arena
F
Mexico vs Sweden
June 27th
Moscow
9 p.m.
Spartak Stadium
E
Serbia vs Brazil
June 27th
Nizhny Novgorod
9 p.m.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
E
Switzerland vs Costa Rica
June 28th
Volgograd
5 p.m.
Volgograd Arena
H
Japan vs Poland
June 28th
Samara
6 p.m.
Samara Arena
H
Senegal vs Colombia
June 28th
Kaliningrad
8 p.m.
Kaliningrad Stadium
G
England vs Belgium
June 28th
Saransk
9 p.m.
Mordovia Arena
G
Panama vs Tunisia
PLAY-OFF 1/8
June 30th
Kazan
5 p.m.
Kazan Arena
 
Winner C vs Runner-up D
June 30th
Sochi
9 p.m.
Fisht Stadium
 
Winner A vs Runner-up B
July 1st
Moscow
5 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
 
Winner B vs Runner-up A
July 1st
Nizhny Novgorod
9 p.m.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
 
Winner D vs Runner-up C
July 2nd
Samara
6 p.m.
Samara Arena
 
Winner E vs Runner-up F
July 2nd
Rostov-on-Don
9 p.m.
Rostov Arena
 
Winner G vs Runner-up H
July 3rd
Saint Petersburg
5 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
 
Winner F vs Runner-up E
July 3rd
Moscow
9 p.m.
Spartak Stadium
 
Winner H vs Runner-up G
PLAY-OFF 1/4
July 6th
Nizhny Novgorod
5 p.m.
Nizhny Novgorod Stadium
 
Winner Match 49 vs Winner Match 50
July 6th
Kazan
9 p.m.
Kazan Arena
 
Winner Match 53 vs Winner Match 54
July 7th
Samara
6 p.m.
Samara Arena
 
Winner Match 55 vs Winner Match 56
July 7th
Sochi
9 p.m.
Fisht Stadium
 
Winner Match 51 vs Winner Match 52
PLAY-OFF 1/2
July 10th
Saint Petersburg
9 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
 
Winner Match 57 vs Winner Match 58
July 11th
Moscow
9 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
 
Winner Match 59 vs Winner Match 60
PLAYOFF 3RD PLACE
July 14th
Saint Petersburg
5 p.m.
Saint Petersburg Stadium
 
Loser Match 61 vs Loser Match 62
FINAL
July 15th
Moscow
6 p.m.
Luzhniki Stadium
 
Winner Match 61 vs Winner Match 62
 

Have an outstanding time during the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia touring the host cities and watching the games. Book Russian train tickets on Russian Trains.