World Cup stadiums: A closer look at every venue used in Russia 2018

Get the lowdown on each of the venues that will stage the 64 matches this June and July, with their respective capacities in brackets.

Ekaterinburg Arena, Yekaterinburg (35,000*)

• The most easterly city hosting matches, situated at the foot of the Ural mountains, and the city where members of the royal family were executed following the October 1917 revolution. The stadium is home to FC Ural, and was initially built in 1953.
• FIFA regulations mean each World Cup venue must have a minimum capacity of 35,000 - and that was proving difficult for this 23,000-seater. The organisers therefore came up with an interesting solution of building a huge temporary stand that extended 'outside' of the stadium.
• After the tournament, the plan is to take down the temporary seating.
• Matches: Egypt v Uruguay (June 15), France v Peru (June 21), Japan v Senegal (June 24), Mexico v Sweden (June 27)

Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad (35,000*)

• The most westerly city to stage games. Situated on the Baltic coast, it remains an important Russian seaport. The stadium has been built for the finals, but will be home to FC Baltika Kaliningrad.
• Matches: Croatia v Nigeria (June 16), Serbia v Switzerland (June 22), Spain v Morocco (June 25), England v Belgium (June 28)

Kazan Arena, Kazan (45,000*)

• Kazan is the capital of the republic of Tatarstan and is home to 1.2 million people. The stadium was built for the World University Games in 2013 and is home to local club Rubin Kazan. It was designed by the same firm of architects behind Wembley Stadium and the Emirates Stadium.
• Matches: France v Australia (June 16), Iran v Spain (June 20), Poland v Colombia (June 24), South Korea v Germany (June 27), one last-16 game (June 30), one quarter-final (July 6)

Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow (80,000*)

• The main venue for the finals will host the first and last match. Built in the 1950s, it was used during the 1980 Olympic Games and hosts most matches played by the Russian national team and at various times has been home to city clubs Spartak, CSKA and Torpedo. Manchester United fans will remember it fondly - it was here, in driving rain, that the club won their third European title by beating Chelsea on penalties in 2008.
• Matches: Russia v Saudi Arabia (June 14, opening match), Germany v Mexico (June 17), Portugal v Morocco (June 20), Denmark v France (June 26), one last-16 game (July 1), one semi-final (July 11), final (July 15)

Spartak Stadium, Moscow (45,000*)

• Home, as the name suggests, to Spartak Moscow, who despite their reputation and huge fan-base had never truly had a stadium to call their own until it was built. Opened in 2014, it will have a residential area built around it after the finals.
• Matches: Argentina v Iceland (June 16), Poland v Senegal (June 19), Belgium v Tunisia (June 23), Serbia v Brazil (June 27), one last-16 game (July 3).

Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, Nizhny Novgorod (45,000*)

• Built on hills overlooking the Volga river, Nizhny Novgorod has been a key commercial city since the 19th century. One of the new constructions, it will be home to Olympiets Nizhny Novgorod.
• Matches: Sweden v South Korea (June 18), Argentina v Croatia (June 21), England v Panama (June 24), Switzerland v Costa Rica (June 27), one last-16 game (July 1), one quarter-final (July 6)

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Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don (45,000*)