ROME, July 3. /TASS/. Russia as the host country of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup has again proven its ability to hold large-scale events, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich said at the presentation of Russia’s investment potential in Italy on Monday.

"The Confederations Cup - this splendid football celebration - has just come to an end in our country. As is well known, many teams play football but it is Germany that wins. This is what happened this time again and the Germans again proved to be the strongest squad at this tournament," the Russian vice-premier said.

"At the same time, we have once again confirmed our ability to organize large-scale events, showed our hospitality and, of course, we are waiting our Italian friends - the national team and fans - at the world football championship that will be held in 11 Russian cities next year," Dvorkovich said.

The Russian vice-premier also noted that Italian specialists were working in the Russian Football Premier League.

"Incidentally, if we speak about cooperation in the sphere of football, we have the great football club Spartak. It was unable to win the national football championship for 16 years. Last year, Massimo Carrera became Spartak’s coach and Spartak won the national championship. These are the results of the Italian coach’s work," Dvorkovich said.

"We have another great club, Zenit. It has decided to follow Spartak’s example and also invited an Italian coach, Roberto Mancini, this year," the vice-premier added.

"So, there will be competition between two Italian coaches in Russia for the championship’s gold. And, of course, I hope that we’ll perform worthily next year [at the 2018 FIFA World Cup]. I mean our national team and your squad [Italy’s national team]," Dvorkovich said.

The Confederations Cup took place between June 17 and July 2 in four Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi and Kazan. Germany won the tournament defeating Chile 1:0 in the final match.

Apart from 2014 FIFA World Cup Champions Germany and 2015 Copa America Champions Chile, participants in the 2017 Confederations Cup were hosts Russia, 2015 AFC Asian Cup Champion Australia, 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup winners Mexico, 2016 UEFA Euro Cup champs Portugal, OFC (Oceania Football Confederation) Nations Cup victors New Zealand and 2017 CAF Africa Cup of Nations Champion Cameroon.

In 2018, Russia will host the FIFA World Cup, which will be held between June 14 and July 15, 2018, in 11 Russian cities - Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Sochi and Rostov-on-Don.