1,000 days to Russia 2018: Footballers, fans celebrate in Red Square

The 1,000-day countdown to the start of the FIFA World Cup might, for some, be nothing more than a pleasant milestone. But that was most definitely not the case for those gathered by the walls of the Kremlin in central Moscow on Friday.
In the very heart of the Russian capital, fans were able to enjoy a flavour of the atmosphere at the great festival of football in which Russia will be immersed three years from now.
Could you imagine yourself playing football on a pitch in the middle of Red Square? Even those competing in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia will not have the chance to play in this world famous, picturesque location, which has held so much historical significance for over 800 years.
Today though, U-16s representing teams from Italy, Spain and Germany – the three last World Cup winners – and hosts Russia were given this rarest of opportunities, one they will no doubt remember for the rest of their lives.
“We already took a team photograph but I will also take more personal photos later today,” said Italy captain Giorgio Losa, unable to contain his emotions. “To play on the country’s main square is a great honour. To be frank, when I learned that we were going to play here, it felt incredible.”
Fans were also barely able to contain their excitement today at the presence of some of the most distinguished figures from world football. The long line of admirers of all ages did not faze the stars who had been invited to the event, notably former Russia captain Alexey Smertin, and also representatives of the three last World Cup-winning nations: Germany legend Lothar Matthaus, former Italy defender Gianluca Zambrotta and Spain icon Fernando Hierro. Despite the admiration shown for these greats of the world game, local fans were no less eager to greet Russian team players both past and present. These included 2018 FIFA World Cup Ambassador Igor Akinfeev, Alexander Kokorin, Vladimir Gabulov and Alexander Kerzhakov.