Russia kicked off the 2018 tournament against Saudi Arabia, looking for their first World Cup since their opening match of the 2002 event.

President Vladimir Putin was caught smugly shaking hands with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after Russia scored the first of three goals against Saudi Arabia.

Footage shows Mr Putin shrugging before amicably offering his hand to the Royal as a sign of appeasement.

Prince Salman good-heartedly accepted the offer and the pair then returned to watch the game.

Russia couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the tournament, eventually winning 5-0 to go top of Group A.

President Putin and Prince Salman met shortly before the match to discuss future relations between their countries.

Prince Salman told the Russian leader he hoped for continued cooperation with Russia on global oil markets, adding their work together was beneficial for the whole world.

The hosts are 70th in the FIFA world rankings, three places below their opponents, but were widely expected to win their first international meeting with the Middle Eastern country.

The 2018 World Cup started earlier today with a stunning opening ceremony, which saw former Take That frontman Robbie Williams perform.

Headlining the opening show for one of the biggest sporting events in the world he performed at 3:30pm today, just 30 minutes before the opening game between Russia and Saudi Arabia.