2016-11-21 20:05:00


Russia’s Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost, a Santa Claus analogue) promised to shave his beard if the Russian national team wins the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Sport Express reported.

“I’ve been watching our team playing in this season together with millions of Russian fans. They wonder what I look like without a beard. So I promised to shave it in case of our team’s victory,” Ded Moroz said.

In 2018, Russia will host the football World Cup for the first time.. Russia qualified for the tournament automatically as the host country.

Russia occupies the 53rd place in the FIFA ranking (the worst result over the  last 23 years). It has never got past the group stage of the World Cup.