2018 World Cup: "Russia and Vladimir Putin win the image battle" (Pascal Boniface, IRIS)

"Russia have given the image of a modern country, which knows how to host, which is endowed with solid infrastructure and in which overall security prevails. It can be said that Russia has won the image battle at the 2018 World Cup," stated Pascal Boniface (FRA), the founder and president of the Institut de Relations Internationales et Stratégiques (Institute of International and Strategic Relations), to News Tank Football on 09/07/2018.

The XXI World Cup ends with the final at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow (RUS) on Sunday 15/07/2018 (kick-off at 18:00 local time, 17:00 CET). Before this, the semi-finals see France play Belgium in St. Petersburg on Tuesday 10/07/2018 (kick-off at 20:00 CET), and then Croatia versus England in Moscow on Wednesday 11/07/2018 (20:00 CET).

"Everything is going well for the host country and its supreme leader (Vladimir Putin), for several reasons: on the one hand, there are no incidents, no violence (...). The foreign fans who made the trip to Russia said they were delighted with the welcome they received, and the Russian national team reached the…