Moscow, Jun 9 (IANS): Over 20,000 football fans from Argentina are expected in Russia this summer to see matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Argentinian Ambassador to Russia Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio has said.

"We expect up to 20,000 football fans from Argentina to come to Russia for this World Cup, perhaps more than that," Ambassador Lagorio told journalists on Friday, reports Tass news agency.

"We also expect that Russia will organize an outstanding tournament, since we witnessed how successfully it organized the Confederations Cup last year, and now we are sure that there will be no problems at all.'

He added: "We have also visited all stadiums, where the Argentinian national team is scheduled to play matches, and we have no doubts that the organization of the event will be at the highest possible level, including security," the ambassador said.

Team Argentina is placed in Group D alongside with the national teams from Iceland, Croatia and Nigeria.

The group stage matches of the Argentinian national squad will be played on June 16 against Iceland in Moscow, on June 21 against Croatia in Nizhny Novgorod and on June 26 against Nigeria in Saint Petersburg.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off next Thursday with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow between hosts Russia and Saudi Arabia.