President Vladimir Putin told Russia coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, that nobody was going to judge his team if they lost to Spain in the 2018 World Cup last 16 on Sunday.
Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, revealed this after the hosts dumped out the former world champions via penalties on Sunday.
Peskov insisted that Putin, who watched the game on TV, did not put any pressure on the team to win.
“Before the match, around noon, the president called the coach and wished him well.
“He said that under Cherchesov’s leadership, our guys have already accomplished the impossible — made it out of the group.
“Putin also noted that regardless of the outcome of the match, no one in our country was going to judge them,” Russian news agencies quoted Peskov as saying.
Russia will face the winner of Sunday’s other last-16 match between Croatia and Denmark.
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