Dubai: 2018 Fifa World Cup ambassador Victoria Lopyreva is expecting the hosts to at least go past the preliminary rounds at next month’s global football spectacle.

Lopyreva, the 34-year-old born in Rostov-on-Don, made international headlines after becoming the first-ever woman to be named ambassador for the Fifa World Cup. Since then, she has been travelling the world in an attempt to woo people to Russia when the World Cup is held starting June 14.

Last week, the Lopyreva was in Dubai along with 2002 Fifa World Cup winner from Brazil Gilberto da Silva as brand ambassadors of the Matreshka Festival held at the City Walk. “I would like to be optimistic about my team’s [Russia] chances at the World Cup. But at the same time if I am to be practical and pragmatic then advancing past the group stage would be more than pleasing for us,” Lopyreva said.

“I think as the host country, going to the knockout stages is the minimum we can expect. The huge advantage, of course, will be the presence of the home fans and if Russia does go better than the round of 16, then I would say it is mission accomplished,” she added.

Also a television presenter, model and former Miss Russia 2003, Lopyreva is a big football fan and has visited Old Trafford and got pictures of herself with Paul Pogba in the tunnel.

But despite her proximity to the sport, Lopyreva refrained from predicting an outright winner in Russia. “Football is an unpredictable sport and you can never know what can happen at the end of 90 minutes. To me, football is the closest to life. And just like life one can’t control and plan anything,” she said.

“Who expected Iceland to do so well during Euro 2016? Maybe something similar will happen during Russia 2018 and we may have some unknown team fare unexpectedly well. Some team may surprise us all and this will be good for everyone,” she added.

“Being an ambassador is a big honour and an equally big responsibility for me as I am the first woman ambassador. The World Cup is a great opportunity for us to showcase Russia and show the world what we all are and what we stand for. We need the rest of the world to understand Russia better. Football is more than sport. It is an international language and we want to speak this language when the tournament kicks off on June 14.”