For the 32 competing nations at the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, there are only four-and-a-half more months to go until the moment they have all been waiting for. In the meantime, FIFA.com is beginning a series on the venues where the teams will be playing, starting with the arena that will host the Opening Match of the tournament on 14 June: the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Matches

The Luzhniki is the main stadium of the upcoming FIFA World Cup: the Opening Match, three group-stage encounters, a Round-of-16 tie, a semi-final and the Final are all being held here.

Capacity

During the World Cup, the newly renovated Luzhniki Stadium will be able to accommodate 80,000 spectators. Before reconstruction, which lasted for four years, the tournament’s flagship venue could hold 78,000 people, while during the 1950s and 1960s, when it was called the Lenin Central Stadium, up to 100,000 supporters would attend the Soviet Union’s matches.

Location The Luzhniki is located in one of the most picturesque areas of the Russian capital, as part of a wider Olympic complex bearing the same name that spreads over 180 hectares. The Moskva River flows right alongside the stadium and there is a cable-car connecting the two. Tens of thousands of Muscovites play all kinds of sports at the Luzhniki Olympic Complex and today it is a popular place for recreation and family strolls.