Spain choose Krasnodar as World Cup base

“The national team has decided on the south of Russia and more precisely Krasnodar for their headquarters from which they will radiate to the main cities where the World will take place,” said a statement from the Spanish football federation.

The players will use the training facilities of Krasnodar Academy, the local Russian Premier League club, which have both grass and artificial surfaces.

Spain will kick off in Group B against Portugal on June 15 in Sochi, 270 kilometres south of Krasnodar. They then face Iran in Kazan, almost 1,700 kilometres to the north, on June 20, and travel the same distance to play Morocco in Kaliningrad, on the Baltic coast, on June 25.