Vladimir Putin insists he was always confident Russia would win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

PM says Russia are worthy winners

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin insists he was always confident his country would win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

England's dream of staging the showpiece event in eight years' time was brought to an end on Thursday afternoon when Russia won the vote in Zurich.

The result also saw joint bids from Spain/Portugal and Holland/Belgium lose out.

And Putin, who was absent for the result but was set to fly out to Zurich later Thursday, says he never doubted his country in securing the vote.

"I would like to thank the members of the FIFA executive committee for their decision, that they trusted us with staging the football World Cup," Putin told the RIA Novosti news agency.

"This confidence was based on the fact that Russia is worthy of staging the football championship.

"I would like to congratulate everyone who loves sport in our country, all the fans of this beautiful game - football. This is a big celebration for us all."

Right decision

Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov, meanwhile, insists the decision is one Fifa will not regret.

"You have entrusted us with the FIFA World Cup for 2018 and I can promise, we can all promise, you will never regret it," said Shuvalov.

"Let us make history together."

Russian bid officials emphasised in their concluding presentation earlier on Thursday the country's readiness to host the tournament for the first time.

Bid chief Alexei Sorokin said: "We are ready. Most of the infrastructure is planned and budgeted for and the World Cup will accelerate this."SKY SPORTS ON SKY

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This confidence was based on the fact that Russia is worthy of staging the football championship.

Vladimir Putin