FIFA president Gianni Infantino has thanked the Russian people and government on Friday for what he described as the “best World Cup” ever.

Infantino had already told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the Kremlin last week that the world “all fell in love with Russia”.

“Since a couple of years, I was saying this would be the best World Cup ever. Today I can say it with more conviction because I lived it and you lived it. It is the best World Cup ever,” said Infantino, two days ahead of the final between France and Croatia.

Infantino told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a meeting at the Kremlin last week that the world “all fell in love with Russia,” over the past four weeks and repeated his praise for Putin’s government and the organisation put in place for the tournament.

As things stand, the Qatar World Cup will be the final version of the tournament with 32 teams before expanding to 48 for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

However, Infantino said a decision on whether that expansion will be moved forward for the next World Cup will be discussed and taken “in the next few months”