Hosts Russia will begin next week’s World Cup as the lowest-ranked of the 32 teams participating in the tournament after FIFA’s latest world rankings were announced.
Russia, who suffered a 1-0 loss to Austria in a friendly last month, slipped four places to 70th in the standings, behind Saudi Arabia at 67th.
The two lowest-ranked teams will kick off the World Cup at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow on June 14.