Brazil, Russia set for football friendly

Rio de Janeiro, July 8: Brazil and Russia have reportedly agreed to play an international football friendly next March as they fine tune their preparations for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

"We will play Brazil next year. We are finalizing negotiations," the president of the Russian football federation Vitaly Mutko, was quoted as saying by the Folha de S.Paulo newspaper on Friday, reports Xinhua news agency.

The match is expected to be played before Brazil's friendly against Germany in Berlin on March 27.

Brazil lead the South American zone World Cup qualifying standings, holding a nine-point lead over second-placed Colombia with four matches remaining.

The Selecao became the first team to qualify for football's showpiece tournament by defeating Paraguay 3-0 in March.

The World Cup will be played in 11 Russian cities from June 14 to July 15, 2018.