As anticipation builds ahead of the arrival of supporters in June to watch the best players on the planet vie for the game's most coveted Trophy, FIFA.com continues its series introducing fans to the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ venues. Today it is the turn of the Samara Arena.

The Samara Arena is hosting six games at the 2018 FIFA World Cup™ in Russia, including a Round-of-16 tie and a quarter-final match-up. Costa Rica kick off their tournament campaign here against Serbia on 17 June, while hosts Russia play their final group-stage match against Uruguay at the stadium on 25 June.

During the tournament, the Samara Arena will be able to seat up to 45,000 spectators.

The new World Cup stadium was built on the highest part of Samara in the Radiotsentr district.

The Samara Arena is distinguished by the outer-space motifs incorporated into its design. The façade of the stadium is a transparent dome, which gives the impression of a flying saucer or a spaceship. This reflects Samara’s vital role in Russian and global space exploration.

The first fixtures at the newly constructed Samara Arena took place in April and May this year. On 28 April, the venue was tested for the first time as local side Krylia Sovetov defeated Fakel Voronezh 2-1 in the second-division Football National League. On 6 May, 40,000 fans were in attendance for Krylia Sovetov’s second game at the stadium, a 1-0 victory against Kuban Krasnodar. The Samara Arena later hosted a third match between Lada-Togliatti and Nosta Novotroitsk in the Professional Football League, which ended 2-1 to Lada.

After Russia 2018, the Samara Arena will become the permanent home ground for local side Krylia Sovetov, who won promotion to the top-flight Russian Premier League at the end of the season just concluded.