Preparation in full swing amid gloomy weather

Normally Moscow has sunny weather and temperature of around 20 degrees Celsius during this time of the year. But in the last few days, skies were cloudy and the temperature went down a little bit. And Tuesday, with only a couple of days before the start of the World Cup, Moscow was engulfed with heavy rainfall.

It was a public holiday Tuesday on the occasion of the Russia Day. On this day, Russia celebrates its establishment as an independent country after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. After its establishment, the Declaration of the Sovereignty of the Russian Federation was signed.

Likewise, the organisers and the teams are putting the final touch to their preparation before the start of the greatest show on earth. Reigning champion Germany arrived in Moscow Tuesday amid heavy rain. The Germans will participate in an open-to-public training session at CSKA Sports Base. Argentina and Portugal had their practice sessions and press conferences in Moscow while France met the public in the same city.

Today is Russia Day. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/4gKy26pp6L

— Government of Russia (@GovernmentRF) June 12, 2018

Five-time world champion Brazil had their open-to-public training in Sochi while Spain are currently practising at their base camp in Krasnodar. Most of the other teams have already reached Russia and started training.

There was also a Referees Media Day, including practical training sessions, at Lokomotiv Stadium in Moscow where media personnel got some practical knowledge as to how some of the latest rules and technologies like the Video Assistant Referee will come into play on the field.  

Despite having so many volunteers present at every important place, people still face problems due to the language barrier. Most of them are not comfortable in English. 

Arrived in Moscow and it’s grey and drizzly, but it’s Russia Day so who cares.

— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) June 12, 2018

With that said, the Fifa World Cup app has been launched over 11m times since the tournament's finals draw, and hit a new record Sunday, with 800,000 launches in a single day.

And so, it’s almost here. Wednesday will be the first preview day where host Russia and Saudi Arabia will have their first official press conference to kick of the opening match formalities. And then, all roads will lead to Luzhniki Stadium for the grand opening Thursday.