2018 FIFA World Cup: Saudi Arabian crown prince heads to Moscow for opening ceremony

"The Crown Prince went on a visit in Moscow in response to the invitation of Russian president Vladimir Putin to come to Russia in order to hold a meeting... and attend the World Cup opening ceremony and the match involving our national team," the Foreign Office said in a statement.

Saudi Arabia will play the hosts in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday at the 81,000-seater Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Uruguay and Egypt have also been drawn in Group A along with Russia and Saudi Arabia.

Russia's first-ever FIFA World Cup will be held from June 14 to July 15 in 11 cities across the country, Moscow, Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Saransk, Rostov-on-Don, Sochi and Yekaterinburg.