Ahead of the climax of the 2018 World Cup, Brazilian footballer Dani Alves has congratulated Russia for hosting a hugely successful tournament, saying he hopes it will “be a good party until the end.”
The Paris Saint-Germain defender could not play in the tournament due to a knee injury that he picked up against Monaco in May, but he still traveled to Russia because he didn’t want to miss football’s greatest show.
Speaking to RT en Espanol, Alves, who has played for Brazil more than 100 times, said everything about his experience in Russia has been “very positive.”
“We only have to congratulate Russia as a country and as host,” the star defender said.
Alves is the latest of football’s biggest names to heap praise on the quality of the tournament. Speaking at an event on Saturday, FIFA President Gianni Infantino labelled it “the best World Cup in history.”
“This World Cup has proven that Russia is truly a football country. Thank you, Russia, for hosting the best World Cup in history,” Infantino said during a gala concert at Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater.
The showpiece event of the football festival takes place on Sunday, when France take on Croatia to decide who will raise the coveted World Cup Trophy. The match kicks off at 18:00 (local time) at Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.