It’s the eve of the World Cup 2018 with the eyes of the globe turning towards Russia.
It promises to be an action-packed, drama-filled month as 736 players from 32 nations arrive for a feast of football. Brazil, Spain and Germany arrive as tournament favourites with Gareth Southgate's England heading in with plenty of hope if not much expectation. They face Tunisia in Volgograd on Monday before taking on Panama and Belgium in Group G.
The Three Lions are settling in in Repino having arrived yesterday, with the tournament kicking off in earnest on Thursday afternoon when the hosts face Saudi Arabia.
We will have all the latest news, views, pictures and video direct from Russia throughout the day as we build up to the biggest football tournament in the world.
Live Updates
11:03
BREAKING NEWS: Julen Lopetegui has been sacked as Spain head coach.
10:51
Alright, Peter! We don't keep going on about the time Davor Suker lobbed you at Euro '96!
10:45
The World Cup has always been the greatest stage on earth for showcasing footballing creativity.
Think Hagi. Think Gascoigne. Think Platini. Think Iniesta, Socrates, Neeskens. Think Stojkovic. Think Zidane.
Think this Spanish journalist.
10:37
The England players are out for their first training session in Zelenogorsk this morning, and there are a couple of concerns for fans of the Three Lions.
Despite some strapping on his left ankle, Eric Dier is taking part in the action but Marcus Rashford - so impressive in the friendly win against Costa Rica at the weekend - is sitting it out with a slight knee strain.
Now whose shoulders are we going to pin a nation's hopes upon?
10:28
Later today, we will find out who will be hosting the 2026 World Cup, and exactly where I'll be pretending to live blog from in eight years time.
As with anything and everything else, the United States looked to be in a good position...and then Donald Trump started tweeting.
The U.S. had presented a joint bid with Canada and Mexico (that wall is going to make travelling a nightmare for supporters) and were clear favourites to land the 2026 competition, but they are now being challenged by Morocco.
Bidding to host the World Cup for a fifth time, Morocco are adamant that an Africa country are deserving of another tournament after South Africa's hosting of the event in 2010. Do they have vuvuzelas in North Africa?
The FIFA Congress will vote on who should host the 'biggest World Cup ever' later today with experts already predicting it as too close to call. A failure to go with either bid will open up the opportunity for further bids elsewhere. It's already proving to be more exciting than Russia v Saudi Arabia tomorrow.
09:48
The social media channels are awash with Spain speculation about their upcoming press conference.
Could they really be replacing their manager on the eve of the World Cup, two days before they take on European champions Portugal in their Group B opener?
Of course, the most frustrating thing in all of this is it was only yesterday that I finally nailed how to spell Julen Lopetegui without Googling.
The Spain coach (for now) is remaining tight-lipped (for now).
09:22
Spain's press conference where they will clarify Julen Lopetegi's future has been delayed until 11.30am BST.
The plot thickens...
08:45
BREAKING:
With just 48 hours to go until their World Cup campaign kicks off against Portugal on Friday, Spain could sack their manager Julen Lopetegi.
Lopetegi was announced as the new Real Madrid manager yesterday but the Spanish FA are calling it a 'betrayal'.
READ ALL THE DETAILS:
08:32
England landed in Repino yesterday, with their first game on Monday against Tunisia.
08:21
We'll bring you all the latest news on that plus all the best pictures and video from Russia throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.
Without further ado, off we go.
Good morning and welcome to today's Independent World Cup blog.
The 2018 Fifa World Cup kicks off in Moscow in just a matter of days with excitement building ahead of the biggest football tournament on the planet.
We'll bring you all the latest news on that plus all the best pictures and video from Russia throughout the day right here so don't touch that dial.
Without further ado, off we go.
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